


I Will Always Be With You: Reminiscing Memories

by PrincessSophiaIsobel



Series: Death of a Prince [3]
Category: Prince of Tennis
Genre: Dreams, Forgiveness, Gen, Humor, Promises, Sorrow
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-01-21
Updated: 2013-01-21
Packaged: 2017-11-26 08:07:51
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 13
Words: 22,231
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/648403
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/PrincessSophiaIsobel/pseuds/PrincessSophiaIsobel
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Its been ten days since the death of Ryoma Echizen. Now Kami-sama has given him 12 nights to bid everyone he knows a proper farewell. With the wonderful opportunity, Ryoma visits everyone that he knew made a huge impact in his life and tennis career even if he wouldn't say it out loud.</p><p>The last season of the Ryoma Death Series. After The Funeral</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Prologue: Ten Days Later

It has been ten days since the death of Ryoma Echizen. The mortal world was in sorrow and grief for losing such a man of many talent's so young.

Ryoma was walking amongst the clouds. He wondered where he was and if he was really dead. He didn't feel dead at all. He just felt a little cold and wanted Ponta even if he wasn't thirsty. As he walked further into the clouds, he saw a door and couldn't resist but to open it. "I'm dead anyway… What else could go wrong?" he thought and pushed open the door. A blind light shown so bright that he had to close his eyes as he went through the door.

When Ryoma was able to open his eyes, he saw a huge golden glow at the end of the room he was in. "Does this place have any other color aside from white?" he asked out loud without expecting an answer. A manly and deep laugh startled the young Echizen which made him frantically look around.

"Who's there?" he asked with a tone indicating his irritation for not seeing anyone else to whom he could associate the deep laugh to. The golden glow began to move a bit closer to Ryoma which made him move a step back.

"Even after death, you still retained you living characteristic and attitude. You have truly amazed me, Echizen Ryoma." spoke the deep voice again. This time Ryoma could hear it coming from the direction of the golden glow.

"Who are you? And where am I?" Ryoma asked. He just wanted to get away from all the white and sit under a tree somewhere and rest.

"I am surprised that you do not know who I am. I am the great Kami-sama." The golden glow spoke again. This statement made Ryoma's eyes widen in shock and disbelief. He was in the presence of Kami-sama.

"Why am I here?" Ryoma asked with annoyance. He was really getting a bit irritated with all the white and clouds everywhere. There was nothing but clouds.

"You are in my presence because I willed it so. You have amused me with how you used the life you were given and have touched people without even knowing and trying. So before you leave for paradise, I will bestow upon you twelve nights to visit people you wish to bid good-bye too. You have left the mortal world unexpectedly for them and I shall grant their prayers and wishes to see you before you pass on." Kami-sama explained.

Ryoma was in total repudiation. He died but was given twelve nights to visit people in their dreams. After a long pause, a smirk inched its way across Ryoma's face. "Twelve nights you say…. Meaning I can visit people's dreams within twelve nights?" Ryoma asked cautiously. Kami-sama laughed again.

"Yes. Twelve nights. You may visit the people you want to in their dreams. I shall give you the power to weave their dreams together if you wish to visit more than one mortal a time in one night. However, you cannot visit them during the day. Even if they are dreaming. You may only visit at night." Kami-sama spoke again before Ryoma was unwillingly pulled out the room by an invisible hand.

Outside the room, Ryoma turned around and saw a path down to the land of the living and smirked. He already knew where and who he wanted to disturbed first. He just couldn't resist since he was dead and was only given twelve nights to have fun. Ryoma went down and walked on the path leading to Okinawa, to visit and mess with Higa's Tennis members dreams. And he was just in time. The sun was setting and he saw the members of Higa-chuu walking out of their school gates.

"It's been ten days and yet I still feel that the brat is still alive somewhere." He heard Hirakoba speak as Tanishi looked away. It was still a touchy subject for him, the death on Ryoma that is. He and the rest of the players that the young prodigy defeated were in agony. They would never be able to repay the brat back for their lose.

Ryoma smirked, "Yeah, messing with these people for the last time with indeed be fun." He thought and disappeared for a few hours, waiting for all of them to be in their bed and go to sleep.


	2. Higa-chuu, FIGHT ON!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> PREVIOUSLY:
> 
> Ryoma went down and walked on the path leading to Okinawa, to visit and mess with Higa's Tennis members dreams. And he was just in time. The sun was setting and he saw the members of Higa-chuu walking out of their school gates.
> 
> "It's been ten days and yet I still feel that the brat is still alive somewhere." He heard Hirakoba speak as Tanishi looked away. It was still a touchy subject for him, the death on Ryoma that is. He and the rest of the players that the young prodigy defeated were in agony. They would never be able to repay the brat back for their lose.

Ryoma smirked, "Yeah, messing with these people for the last time with indeed be fun." He thought and disappeared for a few hours, waiting for all of them to be in their bed and go to sleep.

Ryoma floated around the city of Okinawa and saw that the place indeed was nice. The sunset on the beach was amazing and it made him sigh. He was going to miss that. He won't be able to see sunsets where his going after his twelve nights were over.

It was already twelve midnight and it was time for him to show himself., in the dreams of Higa that is. He rubbed his hands together as he went down to where Kite lived. He had to use the captain as the main dream bubble and planned to just pull the dream bubbles of the rest into their captian's dream.

(IN DREAM MODE)

Kite was walking in the clouds. "Strange... I do not dream of clouds at all." he thought to himself. After a few more minutes, he heard noise from behind him. It was Chinen and Hirakoba. Both doubles partner turned and was in shocked. "Eh, Taicho is also in the same dream of clouds? This is really wierd!" Hirakoba cried out. "I don't dream about clouds at all. It's usually about tennis." Chinen said in a low voice.

A few more minutes passed and Tanishi came with a bag of chips. "You guys are here too? Wherever this place is." he said as he chowed down the chips. "Even in your dream, you still eat. I don't wonder why you are always hungry." Hirakoba teased. "Shut up, Hirakoba! Dammit it! I was haivng a good dream about eating in a buffet restaurant when I got moved here." Tanishi said.

Tomoya and Aragaki also were in the same dream. "Taicho, were are we?" asked Aragaki. "I have been trying to figure that out for the few moments already." Kite answered. Everyone else sighed. Even their Captain didn't know where they really were.

"Let me answer that then... Higa-chuu no Taicho..." a voice spoke from the clouds. It made everyone pause with wide eyes. The tone and voice was very familiar to them. "I-it sounded -like..." Chinen began but was stopped when Ryoma appeared before them. "Sounds like my voice." Ryoma said in a cocky tone.

If fainting was possible, Tanishi, Hirakoba, and Chinen would have done so. They all screamed in fright. Ryoma Echizen was in front of them. "This is not possible! Your supposed to be dead!" Tanishi yelled from behind Kite. Kite still didn't speak. He was just as stunned as his team were.

"This is a dream. Duh. Anything is possible within the land of dreams. Here, there is no time. Everything is free flowing." Ryoma explained with a smirk. Kite straightened up and fixed his glassed. "There must be a reason why your here. And why we are here too." Kite said with a sure tone.

"Do really are a captian. Yeah..." Ryoma began as he tried to look away. "I'm here to say thank you. And good bye. As you said, I'm already dead. I just came to say good bye. Since I didn't do it properly when I was still alive."

Tanishi stepped away from his captain, "So, this really is just a dream... Thanks for the match, brat. I wish I would have gotten a chance to pay you back... But I know I can never do that again." Tanishi said in a voice that even his own team didn't recognized.

Ryoma was in shocked but shook it off and smirked, "Oh? Even you can be soft as well? The great Okinawan Team must be all soft hearted then." Ryoma teased, trying to hide his feeling of shock and happiness that Tanishi was glad to have met him. He didn't know that he made such an impact to the big guy.

"Thanks for the lose, Echizen. Because of it, my team and I would have never learned that tennis if for the fun of the sport, not to hurt people." Kite spoke and smiled. Then he bowed slightly as the rest of the team followed. "Thank you for visiting is as well. You could have choosen to not bid us good bye, but you did." Aragaki said. "And for that very fact, we deeply thank you, Echizen Ryoma." added Tomoya.

Ryoma took away his smirk and smiled. He bowed back at them. "Well, you guys did make my team stronger too. You introduced us to a different type of tennis and it made us remember that somewhere out there, there are better and stronger teams we needed to face. Now, Seigaku shall have to fight on, without me. But I will always be here. You all may not see me... But when you keep playing, tennis will always be a reminder that a Ryoma Echizen was once a player you had faced." Ryoma said with all sincerity.

"You're right about that. There are stronger teams out there and Higa-chuu with become stronger and replay your team for the lose you gave us." Hirakoba said with a brave smile. Ryoma knew his time with Higa was coming to a close. He did say that in dreams, there was no time. And what seems like a few minutes is already hours in the real world.

"Just remember, tennis is fun." Ryoma said as he moved away. "Che! We know that brat!" Tanishi called after him with tears in his eyes. He knew that it would be the last time he would see the brat. "Fight on, Higa-chuu!" Ryoma called from the clouds. "FIGHT ON!" Higa chanted after him.

The morning sun crept into the sky and the team woke up back in their own beds. They had a smile on their faces. Echizen visited them in their dreams and bid them goody bye even if they weren't that close to him.

They all got ready for another day of school and tennis practice. The team met up at the gates and smiled at each other. A cool breeze blew by and they heard it whisper to them, "I'll always be here..." They knew it was Echizen's voice. They nodded and went through the school doors with happiness in their hearts and hope for a better tomorrow with the whole tennis team.


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> PREVIOUSLY:
> 
> The morning sun crept into the sky and the team woke up back in their own beds. They had a smile on their faces. Echizen visited them in their dreams and bid them goody bye even if they weren't that close to him.
> 
> They all got ready for another day of school and tennis practice. The team met up at the gates and smiled at each other. A cool breeze blew by and they heard it whisper to them, "I'll always be here..." They knew it was Echizen's voice. They nodded and went through the school doors with happiness in their hearts and hope for a better tomorrow with the whole tennis team.

Ryoma was kind of glad to be dead. He could go anywhere he wanted. After visiting Higa, he knew where to go next. He closed his eyes and thought of the place in his mind. When he opened them again, he was already there. The last time he was at that place was for a break from the tournament he was joining. Ryoma was just in time to see a car stop outside the house and saw a blond boy step out.

"Thanks for the lift, Michael." the blond boy said in a saddened tone. Ryoma could still see that the boy was still devastated from the news of him dying. "Who wouldn't be?" he thought to himself. "Just take it easy Kevin. Don't push yourself too hard." Billy said as he poked his head out the window. Kevin merely shrugged and turned to enter his house. "I can't blame him now, can I. We had been good friends when I was here during my tournament. Sorry Kevin." Ryoma whispered in the air.

Kevin looked around, he knew he heard his name. "Did you hear that?" he asked. Billy and Michael turned to look at each other then back at Kevin. "Heard what?" Michael asked back. Kevin sighed and shook his head, he must be really tired to have thought he heard Ryoma's voice saying his name. "Nevermind. I'll see you tomorrow, Billy. Thanks again, Michael." Kevin bid them good bye and went inside. The car left as soon as the door closed.

"Well, I am now glad to have come here next. Kevin sure can feel me." Ryoma thought. He waited again for the sunset to set and the moon to appear in the night sky. He was looming of Kevin's bedroom when the blond boy came out of the bathroom in his towel. Ryoma wanted o play a little so he blow air into Kevin's neck and hoped that he would feel it.

Kevin felt cold air in the back of his neck and it made him jump. "What the hell was that?" he asked out loud. He looked around his room. The air condition wasn't that cold to make him shiver and the window was close so it couldn't have been the evening air. "Why is that even if I know his gone, why can I still feel like his close by?" he thought out loud.

Ryoma looked away as Kevin changed into his sleeping clothes. They he climbed into bed, staring at the ceiling. "You really are unfair, Ryoma. You promised a lot of people rematches and you didn't keep them." he said. "It's not like I wanted to die, Kevin." Ryoma whispered. Kevin once again sat up and looked around. He heard Ryoma's voice saying his name. "I really must be dead tired." Kevin declared as he laid back down and went to sleep.

It was around midnight when Ryoma entered Kevin's dream. He did the same thing he did to Higa. He pulled the dream bubbles of Bobby, Billy, Michael, Arnold, Tom, and Terry into Kevin's.

 

(DREAM MODE)

"Am I dreaming? Or am I dead?" Kevin asked himself as he was walking around. There were clouds everywhere. "If your dead, we must be dead too." Tom said as he and Terry came closer to Kevin. "this must be a share dream. I've read about these. People who come in contact with other people who just came from either a depression situation or joyful, share the same dream." Terry explained.

"Then it must be a depressing situation then." Bobby said as he, Billy, Michael, and Arnold came. They looked at each other and knew in one look what the situation was that made them have a shared dream. "Or maybe because I pulled you all in Kevin's dream so I can talk to you guys together and to save time." Ryoma said as he appeared in front of them.

Kevin screamed as he hid behind Billy who hid behind Arnold and Bobby. Terry jumped into Tom's arms in fright. "What the hell! Ryoma! You're supposed to be dead!" Kevin screamed. "I am dead, you dolt! This is a dream, remember?" Ryoma rolled his eyes. "What brings you to our dreams?" Arnold asked.

"I simply came to say good bye." Ryoma began. Kevin rushed in front of Ryoma as he attempted to grabbed his friend but he went through Ryoma instead. "Kevin, do you turn off your brain when you go to sleep? You can't touch me. I'm dead. Geez. Mada Mada Dane, Kevin." the green haired boy teased. "You're unfair! You know that? You promised a lot of people a rematch with you! How are we supposed to claim those matches now?" Kevin said with tears in his eyes.

"K-Kevin..." Michael spoke. "That weird kid with red hair cried his eyes out when he finally realized that you were really gone! That other kid who kinda looks like you cried too! I cried you idiot! How could you?" Kevin screamed at Ryoma. "It's not like I chose to die, Kevin. It just happened." Ryoma said as he turned away.

"I'm... Geez... It was easier when I faced Higa last night... Kevin, I'm sorry. I'm sorry I died. Thought it wasn't really my plan to do so, I'm still sorry. I'm sorry I can't play tennis with you anymore. I'm... I'm sorry I let you all down. My team... My family... My friends..." Ryoma's voice was shakey. It was really hard to apologize. Now he knew why.

Ryoma whished he could touched Kevin. He concentrated really hard and his body began to solidify. Ryoma stretched out his hand and patted Kevin's head. He hugged his friend who cried his heart out. Terry burned his head into Tom's chest. He was crying for Kevin. Michael rubbed Billy's back with there were tears in Bobby's eyes. Arnold handed him a tissue.

"When we met again... In the afterlife maybe... I promise we'll play tennis again. We can do it for all eternity then. Match after match after match." Ryoma assured Kevin. Kevin pulled away and wiped his tears, "If I don't find you in heaven, everyone will jump down to hell for their rematches. That includes me!" Kevin told Ryoma.

Ryoma nodded and smiled. "Of course. I promise to play with you first when we meet up again." Ryoma answered Kevin. Ryoma turned to the rest, "Thanks for everything. You guys thought me a lot. It was great to have known you all. Even you Bobby." Ryoma teased. They all chuckled. Then Ryoma felt the same thing he felt when he visited Higa. His time was up.

"This is were I bid you good bye. Take good care of yourself, Kevin. Brush up on that you tennis style so that when we meet up again, you won't lose so badly to me." Ryoma said and laughed. Kevin scoffed and smirked, "Well, I have time to practice. You'll be the one who'll lose when we meet up, Ryoma." Kevin said.

Ryoma simply smirk as he floated away from them, "Mada Mada Dane..." he called out from the clouds.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"That's for you, idiot." Kevin said as he opened his eyes to a new morning. He smiled as he looked out his window, "We'll meet again Ryoma. And you'll lose to all of us when we see you." he said as he grabbed his towel to shower and ready for another day.


	4. Hey Kevin, Can You Feel Me?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> PREVIOUSLY:
> 
> "That's for you, idiot." Kevin said as he opened his eyes to a new morning. He smiled as he looked out his window, "We'll meet again Ryoma. And you'll lose to all of us when we see you." he said as he grabbed his towel to shower and ready for another day.

Ryoma was pacing back and forth among the clouds, thinking where to go next. When your dead, there's not time really. You just see the sun rise and sun set when you look down on the living world. Then it struck him. He knew were to go now. With wishful thinking he was outside St. Rudolph's Dormitory. He had passed it once when he and Momo were dragged by Fuji so that he could see his brother.

"Mizuki-san! We really have to get ready for practice." Yuuta called from the lobby. Atsushi and Yanagisawa were with the younger Fuji. Mizuki came down the stairs, all dress for practice. "You do not have to scream, Yuuta-kun. I can hear you just fine." Mizuki told him.

They had bags with them that looked bigger than just practices bags. "I'm glad we can have practice far from the city. I think this will be good for all of since. To regroup ourselves from the lose of a friend and amazing opponent." Atsushi said.

Ryoma was amazed. He was amazing even to St. Rudolph. "Of course I was amazing." Ryoma said. He followed the whole team to the bus stop and floated around them. "I still can't believe it, dane. That promising freshman died, dane." Yanagisawa shivered. "Death really does not choose an age." Kaneda spoke. The rest agreed.

The bus came and they all jumped in. Ryoma sat next to the space where Yuuta was sitting. "Che. I hate sitting next to the aisle." Ryoma said and crossed his arms. Yuuta turned around and saw Atsushi sitting on the opposite side of him, "Atsushi-san, if you don't like the sit next to the aisle, you can have me window sit." Yutta offered.

However, Atsushi got confused. "Huh? I enjoy sitting by the aisle. It let's me see the people who enter and leave and I get to leave before Yanagisawa so I like it. What made you say I didn't like sitting here?" This creeped out Yuuta a little. "I heard you say that you don't like sitting by the aisle." Yuuta told him. Yanagisawa also looked confused. He was talking to Atsushi so it was impossible for him to say something without him hearing it first.

"Are you alright, Yuuta? Atsushi and I have been talking, dane. He didn't say anything like hating the aisle sit, dane." Yanagisawa told Yuuta and Atsushi. Yuuta wondered who he heard. "Nevermind then." Yuuta said and looked back out the window. Just as he turned to look out, he saw a reflection of Ryoma beside him. "AAAAAAAHHHHHH!" He screamed which caused his teammates to jump up in fright.

"What happened, Yuuta?" asked Akazawa, their Captain. "I-I..." he stuttered. "If I tell them I saw Echizen they might think I've gone crazy." he thought to himself. He quickly shook his head and sighed, "Nothing. Sorry. I thought S-something bit me." Yuuta tried to shake the feeling away.

This amused Ryoma. Kami-sama didn't mention that people can see him in reflections. This gave him a thought and smirked. Atsushi moved to sit next to Yuuta to ask if there was something wrong, leaving Yanagisawa alone. Ryoma passed before Yanagisawa's window which made the junior jump out into the aisle. "AAAAHHH! DANE!" he screamed.

"What's wrong now?" Mizuki looked up from his notes, trying to make a work out for them. "I-I just saw... I saw..." he was trembling. Ryoma was trying his best not to laugh out loud. "Saw what, Yanagisawa-san?" asked Nomura. "I think I saw a reflection of Echizen, dane!" he said.

"You saw it too?" Yuuta quickly asked. Yanagisawa nodded and was still shaking. "I think you both have been thinking about that boy too much. I think Atsushi is right. This trip will be good for us." Akazawa spoke. Yanagisawa knew what he saw. And Yuuta believed him. Now he knew why Yuuta screamed.

When they got to the cottage they were staying, up in the mountains, it was already evening. "Practice starts at four in the morning. The keepers have prepared dinner and after that we can all rest up." spoke Mizuki as he went up the stairs to the bedroom with his name on the door. They each had rooms of their own.

Dinner went smoothly and Ryoma did his best to not cause trouble. "Being dead isn't half as bad if I get to have fun too." he thought with a smirk. He waited for everyone to head back to their rooms and sleep. But just before they all went to bed, they all heard Mizuki scream from his room.

They all ran and found their manager out in the hallway with black ink on his face. "Mizuki, what happened?" asked Akazawa. Kaneda handed Mizuki a towel and he quickly tried wiping the ink before it got dried. "I don't know. I was righting something for tomorrow's exercise and my pen stopped working. I tried to see why then the ink lever got pulled down somehow and the ink sprayed all over my face." he explained.

Yuuta and Yanagisawa wondered if it was really Echizen doing pranks on them. They all went back and tried to get some rest.

Ryoma planned to use Yuuta's dream bubble instead of Akazawa's because he knew Yuuta better.

 

(DREAM MODE)

Yuuta was walking around. He didn't know where he was. All he knew was that he wasn't in the cottage anymore. Yuuta saw Yanagisawa and Atsushi and ran to them. "Where are we?" he asked them. Both shook their heads. Not too long, they were joined by the rest of their team. "Mizuki-san! Where are we?" Yuuta asked in concern.

Mizuki looked around but before he could answer, Ryoma appeared in front of them and cried, "BOO!" "AAAAHHHH!" was what they all screamed before hiding behind their captain's back. Mizuki was frozen solid. "E-echizen-k-kun? Is that r-really you?" he asked, stuttering.

"The one and only. Unless you know anyone else with the name Ryoma Echizen and who looks a hell like me." Ryoma said cheekily. Mizuki snapped out of his frozen stated and twitched. "Even in death, your still cocky, Echizen-kun." he said. The rest began to relax a little.

"Your all in the same dream. Pulled and weaved together by me." Ryoma said. "Why?" Yuuta asked. "Well... That is... Because... Uhm..." Ryoma sighed. "I thought after two visits, thing would become easier." he whispered to himself.

"I did this to bid you all good bye. I died and left you all without saying good bye." he said in a soft voice. Yuuta stood up straight and nodded. "T-thank you for doing so, Echizen." Yuuta said. Ryoma smirked again. And knew that he had to admit somethings.

"Eto... Gomenasai, Mizuki-senpai... About the ink spraying all over your face... And sorry about scaring you during the bus ride. I just couldn't resist. Being dead can have little advantages so I thought to have fun for a little while." he explained and saw the tick in Mizuki's forehead getting bigger.

Then Mizuki looked up and smiled icily, "Since your dead and I can't get back at you, you all will have a very rough morning if I have a say in this." Mizuki warned his teammates. Yuuta, Atsushi, Yanagisawa, and Kaneda looked scaried then glared at Ryoma, "Echizen!" they yelled.

Ryoma was glad they couldn't grabbed him and that he was a ghost. When the yells died down, "I also wanna thank you guys for everything. Yuuta-san, you keep aiming to defeat Fuji-senpai. Go for it." Ryoma cheered him. Yuuta smiled and nodded.

"Well, I have to talk my leave now since you all will be waking up momentarily. Good luck." He said and disappeared.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

When they all woke up, Mizuki did go through his threat and they all ran up the mountain. "When we meet Echizen in the afterlife, dane (pant) I'll beat him up and tear him limb from limb, dane!" Yanagisawa vowed as they ran up the hill.

Ryoma smirked and simply whispered, "Mada mada dane..."


	5. Am I Really A Liar?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> PREVIOUSLY:
> 
> When they all woke up, Mizuki did go through his threat and they all ran up the mountain. "When we meet Echizen in the afterlife, dane (pant) I'll beat him up and tear him limb from limb, dane!" Yanagisawa vowed as they ran up the hill.
> 
> Ryoma smirked and simply whispered, "Mada mada dane..."

Ryoma was bored. He had been thinking forever of who shall he visit next. He missed playing tennis when he was bored. Kami-sama didn't say that he couldn't. But how was he supposed to play without an opponent. He didn't if there were dead tennis players like him around. Then out of nowhere, the image of Shinji Ibu came into his mind. "Why not drop by Fudomine…'' his mind told him. Ryoma smirked and did so.

A few moments later, we was watching Fudomine's practice. Ryoma felt something wasn't right. "Maybe because you're watching from the sky… Mada mada dane, Ryoma." Ryoma's own mind teased him. Ryoma floated down closer and saw that Ibu was playing against Kamio. And Kamio just got caught in Ibu's Spot.

The red head dropped his racquet and Ibu scored. "I really hate that technique of yours, Ibu! May I remind you that I cannot use both my hands like Echizen did? I—" Kamio caught himself. Ibu looked hurt, being reminded of Ryoma just when Ibu was trying to recover. "Kamion!" Tachibana called out. "G-gomen, Ibu. I-I didn't mean to—" Kamio started to apologize but Ibu walked out the court without saying anything.

Ryoma followed Ibu to the locker room and saw him head to the showers. Ryoma stayed out the showers, since he could already hear Ibu's fist hitting the wall. Ryoma looked crushed as if he was in Ibu's shoes. "Did I mean this much to all these people?" Ryoma thought.

He listened to Ibu's cries of pain and anger. Ryoma winced at the thought that his previous opponent was acting like this because of his death. Ibu punched the wall again. "Chik'sho! Echizen! You damn liar!" Ibu yelled. For some reason, Ryoma felt he was going to hell for being a liar. Tanishi and Kevin kept calling him a liar. Now Ibu says his a liar too.

The shower area was covered in fog so he thought that he could use it to snap Ibu out of his misery for a few hours until Ryoma could talk to him in their dreams. The fog worked like the glass reflection. Ibu snapped out when he say something move among the fog. "Who's there? Whoever you are, leave me alone!" he yelled. Ibu never yells but now he just did.

After a few more minutes, he got out and changed into his school uniform. He met the rest of his team as he was exiting the locker room. "Shinji, are you alright now?" Tachibana asked with a concerned tone. Ibu didn't trust himself to speak so he just nodded. He was about to leave when he turned and saw a reflection of Ryoma by the window. Ibu's eye widen in shock.

But then he shook the image and told himself that he was just tired and was seeing things. Ryoma was glad that he was able to snap Ibu out. Though he won't admit it, Ryoma did care for his previous opponents, and that included Shinji Ibu. Ryoma wanted to follow Ibu but he had to stay with Tachibana and the team.

Inside the locker room, "Gomen, Tachibana-san. I didn't mean to snap at Ibu earlier." Kamio apologized. Tachibana understood him. "It wasn't your fault, Kamio. We're all just a bit edgy, that's all. That's it for today. Let's all go home and rest." Fudomine's Captain instructed. "Hai." They all chorused.

The practiced seemed to have brought out different emotions and reactions. Ryoma indeed influenced a lot of people without knowing it. Kippei Tachibana was walking home with his sister, Ann. Both didn't anything until they were a block away from their house. "Nii-chan…" Ann began but her brother raised his hand to stop her.

"We'll talk about it tomorrow. Too many things have happened and a tragedy just happened. Let us rest now and discuss it tomorrow." He told her. Ann was amazed how her brother knew she was going to talk about the incident during practice and how Ibu was acting. But she knew he was right. It could wait.

Ryoma nodded in approval, "Tachibana-san is indeed wise." Ryoma praised. They he flew around until the sun settle and the moon came to watch for the night.

It was nearly midnight once again and Ryoma planned to bring Ann into the dream state as well. "Let's get this night over and done with." He said as he willed the dreams into Tachibana Kippei's dream.

(DREAM MODE)

"Whoa… Am I in heaven?" Kamio asked out loud. "I don't think so, Kamio." Tachibana said as he came with Ann. "We're all in the same dream." Ann said while looking around. "I just don't understand why were in the clouds rather than in a tennis court." She added. A few moments later, Ishida, Sakurai, Uchimura, and Mori came.

"Everyone's almost here… Except for Ibu-kun." Ann pointed out. Out of nowhere, Ryoma came and appeared in front of Fudomine. "That's because his still awake. That's why he isn't here." Kamio jumped high and landed on Ishida's arms. This surprised everyone, even Tachibana. "Oh? Not only are you 'rhythm high', you can also jump high like Kikumaru-senpai, Gakuto-san of Hyotei." Ryoma teased.

Ann simply smiled, "I was right then, this is just a dream. Hey Ryoma-kun. How have you been?" she asked. Ryoma looked at her with his smirk, "Dead. But—I'll be back." He said and disappeared. "T-that was really Echizen, wasn't it?" Kamio asked. Ishida dropped Kamio and the rest laughed as the red head complained.

After a few moments, Ryoma came back with Ibu who looked pale as a ghost. "He looks like his seen a ghost." Ryoma joked. "We all did, Echizen. You. Your now a ghost in our dreams." Tachibana just had to point it out. Ryoma lost his smirk. "Che. I know. You don't have to remind me, Tachibana-san." Ryoma said.

"Why are we all in the same dream, Ryoma-kun?" asked Ann. Ryoma sighed, "I came to say good bye. I wish I could have given a few minutes before I died but that didn't happen. I wasn't given time to bid people good bye. Now through messing with your dreams, I can." He explained.

"You were in the locker room earlier… And I'm sure I saw your reflection on the window when I left." Ibu spoke with his usual tone. Ryoma simply nodded. "Just so you know, I have been called a liar too many times. I think I'll be heading to hell because of it." He told Ibu.

"Then I'll be looking for you down there when I die to claim my rematch." Ibu said with a smirk. "I think you'll have to take a number. Tanishi of Higa-chuu, Kevin of the American Team, and Yuuta of St. Rudolph called their numbers when they meet me again." Ryoma said confidently.

"Even after death, you have not lessened you cockiness of self-confidence, Echizen." Tachibana comment. "Of course. Just because I died doesn't mean I have to be soft." Ryoma told him. "How does time here work?" asked Uchimura. "Time here is free flowing… An hour can seem like a moment… An entire night can seem like a few minutes… That's why dreams are like heaven. We only got to stay for a short while before waking up." He explained.

"Thank you, Echizen." Ibu spoke just as soon as Ryoma finished his explanation. "Yes, thank you. For saying good bye to us." Kamio added. The rest nodded. "Well I had to say good bye. You were the first time I fought when I had my debut into the singles game." Ryoma said with a smile, not a smirk.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"We will see you again in the afterlife, Echizen." Tachibana said as Ryoma slowly floated away. "Work hard, Fudomine." Ryoma cheered as he turned his back on them. Ibu nodded and decided to practice hard so that when he faces Ryoma again, he'll be ready.


	6. Yo, Mr. Masterpiece.

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> PREVIOUSLY:
> 
> "We will see you again in the afterlife, Echizen." Tachibana said as Ryoma slowly floated away. "Work hard, Fudomine." Ryoma cheered as he turned his back on them. Ibu nodded and decided to practice hard so that when he faces Ryoma again, he'll be ready.

After he saw how Ibu took his death, Ryoma knew where to go next. He wondered if the unemotional masterpiece, Reiji of Josei Shonan, would be like Ibu, hitting the wall with his fist or be unaffected. It was lunchtime when Ryoma came down upon Josei Shonan's practice. Moreover, he was in time to see Kajimoto and Wakato finish their practice match with Kajimoto leading the game. He looked around but couldn't find Reiji. "He must be practicing somewhere or changing." Ryoma thought and watched Kajimoto finish the match.

"Kajimoto-taicho doesn't lighten up even for a practice match." commented Oota. Daichi and the twins nodded. Hanamura came with a forced smile of her face. Ryoma could tell the difference. "You both did well. Wakato-kun, your own tennis looks very promising." She praised him. Wakato chuckled, "Arigato, Hanamura-sensei. I've been working on it with the help of Kajimoto and Reiji." "Speaking of Reiji, where—" Kajimoto didn't finish since Reiji entered the courts already.

Reiji looked even more distant than before. Ryoma was in awe. "Could it be?" He thought again. He watched Reiji walk closer to the twins and asked them for a match. "Two versus one?" Youhei asked. Reiji had already turned around, "You can ask Oota to join you as a three versus one game if you are not that confident to face me." Reiji spoke. It was even colder than usual. Kouhei comforted his twin as Youhei felt a bit of fear in Reiji's voice.

"We have to understand him, Youhei." Kouhei told his twin. The other simply nodded; there was nothing they could do. Reiji was in turmoil and Ryoma was witnessing it. The match began and everyone stopped with whatever they were doing to watch the event. They all wondered who would win and how the match will be. Ryoma floated beside Hanamura since she always had the best view of her students.

"He seems angrier than usual." Wakato whispered to Daichi and Oota. They nodded in approval. Lately, Reiji would be the first one to arrive and practice and the last to leave. The entire team noticed that since the funeral, Reiji had been training hard and longer than the rest of them. They wondered why but never asked out loud, fearing bad response from the pissed sadistic teammate.

Ryoma listened intently to the teammates while watching the match. He saw for himself how different Reiji's playing style was from the time he had faced the guy in an official match. "He had trained harder and tougher than the rest of you for one reason alone." Hanamura began but was cut off by Wakato, "We know. He trained like crazy to have a rematch with Seigaku's super rookie."

"But then, he died and Reiji's dreamed rematch was tossed out the window." Oota spoke. "None of us can blame him if his the way he is now." added Daichi. Ryoma was stunned. Even Reiji was like Tanishi, Kevin, and Ibu. "Yes. That is why we all must be careful around Reiji. Let's not make him more edgier than he is now." their couch instructed and the rest nodded. They didn't want to pick a fight with Reiji.

Ryoma saw the match before his very eyes. The twins couldn't even score a single point against him. "Game and Set. Reiji with six games to love." called out the referee. The twins were panting still, "R-reiji-sempai… We know your p-pissed about Echizen-kun being dead—" Kouhei began. "But you don't have to aim your frustration at us." Youhei finished. The watchers were ready to rush into the court if Reiji would attempt something.

However, Reiji simply walked to the court gates, "You two will never be half as good as Echizen was." He said before leaving. He was heading for the locker room. Kajimoto and Wakato entered the courts and saw that Youhei was in the brink of tears. "Why are you going to cry? Because Reiji said that you won't be half as good as Echizen was when he was alive?" asked Wakato. Youhei nodded and Kouhei just comforted his twin.

"He didn't have to rub it in. I knew it within myself that Kouhei and I will never be like Echizen-kun. But we are trying to show that we can be good players still." Youhei said in between sobs. Hanamura looked at them then turned to see Reiji enter the locker room. Ryoma followed.

Inside, Reiji quietly took a shower, letting the water run through his entire body. If he would cry, Ryoma would know it. But he didn't. However, something about the silence made Ryoma wonder what Reiji was really thinking. Then Ryoma left him alone. Not wanting to see a repeat of what Ibu did. When he passed through the door, he also passed through Kajimoto. The captain shivered for a moment.

"Is something wrong, Kajimoto?" asked Wakato. The rest turned to him. "I.. It was like…For a second… I felt like I passed through something… It felt cold…" he tried to explained. "Cold? Passing through you made feel disoriented!" Ryoma said as he tried to get his wits back together. It was Daichi who heard Ryoma clearly. "If you feel disoriented, don't pass through people then. Whoever you are." He said to the air.

He quickly went inside to avoid any questions from his teammates. After having a short meeting, the team went home. Kajimoto and Wakato were walking out the school gates when they saw Reiji leaving before them. "I wonder how long he'll be in depression." asked Wakato. "We'll just have to be a little more patient. We can't fully understand how Reiji feels since none of us has face Echizen Ryoma in a serious and life changing match." Kajimoto told him.

Later that night, Kajimoto was in bed and ready to rest. He also wondered what it would have been like if he was the one who faced Echizen instead of Reiji. "For some reason, I envy you Reiji. To have face that kid in an official match must have been amazing." Kajimoto thought out loud. They he closed his eyes to sleep. Ryoma heard what he said and just stared for a few moments before concentrating on what he was supposed to do.

 

(DREAM MODE)

When Kajimoto opened his eyes, he saw Hanamura and Wakato looking down at him. "What are you two doing in my bedroom?" he asked instantly. "Wow… if this is you room, you must be dead then." spoke Oota standing next to Daichi and the twins. Not a second too soon, Reiji wandered to where his teammates were. "Hanamura-sensei, where are we?" asked Wakato. The rest was eager to know as well.

"I think I can answer that better than she can." A familiar voice came from somewhere. A moment later, Ryoma appeared in between the twins. "AAAAHHHH!" screamed Oota as he jumped into Daichi's arms. The twins were hiding behind Wakato and Reiji. "What? Did I say something wrong?" Ryoma asked, trying to sound as if the setting was normal and he wasn't really a ghost.

"How can this be? Echizen-kun, aren't you supposed to be dead?" asked the couch. Ryoma then floated and sighed, "Oh yeah. I forgot that part. I am already dead." Ryoma said as if it just really dawned on to him. "Stop playing around, Echizen-kun!" Youhei called from behind Wakato. "Yeah! This isn't funny!" Kouhei added. "Funny? I didn't realize I was making a joke." Ryoma said with cockiness, like he always did.

Reiji tried to examine Ryoma carefully. "This is just a dream, isn't it?" Reiji asked. No one spoke for a bit. "Yeah, this is just a dream. Your separate dreams were woven together tonight for one purpose." Ryoma said. "And what purpose it that?" asked Daichi. Then he remembered what happened earlier. "You're the ectoplasm that passed through Kajimoto-san outside the locker room, weren't you?" he asked.

Ryoma was impressed. Despite being big, Daichi wasn't as stupid as he looked. "Ectoplasm eh… Yeah it was me… And the purpose I spoke of is me saying good bye." He told them. No one dared to say anything. They weren't sure if they were still breathing at all. "That just makes everything real then… You really are dead, Echizen." Reiji said with a saddened tone.

Ryoma merely nodded. "I'm sorry to have left without a proper farewell. We may not have been that close, but I saw it fit to at least say good-bye. Josei Shonan was one of the teams that made Seigaku a lot stronger. And it made us realize that every battle will be different and will have different results." Ryoma said.

"No, thank you, Echizen-kun." Oota said with a smile. "Yes, because of you, you have showed that even small players like us—" "We can make a big impact too." Kouhei finished for Youhei and the twins nodded. "Yes, because of your team, I have met that Mamushi and have learned that even if I can copy strong tennis players, it still doesn't show my own skills and style." Wakato added.

"Because of you Echizen, I have learned to not use tennis to hurt and injure people. Tennis should be fun and challenging. Thank you." Reiji said with a smile on his face. Hanamura was glad. "Echizen-kun, you told me that when one reaches perfection, there is nothing left to do right? Well, all my masterpieces haven't reached perfection yet. And I don't think perfection exists. There will always be room for improvement, am I right, Echizen-kun?" she asked with a smile.

Ryoma simply smiled and nodded. "Keep training to be the best in what you do. Turn mistakes into a learning experience and a loss as a stepping-stone to become better tennis players." He told them. He showed them the rising of the sun, "Everyday will be a new day to train harder and aim higher." He added as he floated away. "When we see each other again, I will have to claim my rematch." Reiji called out.

"Take a number then… Tanishi of Higa-chuu, Kevin of the American Team, and Ibu of Fudomine have lined up for their rematches too." Ryoma spoke with confidence. Reiji only nodded in response. He knew he will see Ryoma again someday and when that day comes, he will be ready.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Then they all woke up in their own beds again. They knew Ryoma was right. Every day will be another day for them to try and become better tennis players. And it was another chance for them to live a life full of meaning and memories. Memories that included a certain green haired cocky tennis prodigy.


	7. Cheer Up, You-Loud-As-A-Speaker Captain

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> PREVIOUSLY:
> 
> "Take a number then… Tanishi of Higa-chuu, Kevin of the American Team, and Ibu of Fudomine have lined up for their rematches too." Ryoma spoke with confidence. Reiji only nodded in response. He knew he will see Ryoma again someday and when that day comes, he will be ready.
> 
> Then they all woke up in their own beds again. They knew Ryoma was right. Every day will be another day for them to try and become better tennis players. And it was another chance for them to live a life full of meaning and memories. Memories that included a certain green haired cocky tennis prodigy.

Ryoma was bored, too bored. He was floating over the tennis racquet shop Rokkakku's coach owns. He was wondering when they would finish and head home. He watched as Aoi Kentaro played a one-sided match with his sempai and vice-captain, Saeki. Amane, Bane, and Itsuki saw that their freshman captain was not paying attention to the score nor did he noticed the game before him.

"We must all be very patient with him. He just lost someone he held close to him." Oji said as he appeared next to Amane. Bane looked crushed, knowing who their coach meant. They all haven't really recovered from Ryoma Echizen's death. It wasn't something that anyone can easily move on with. "Who would have ever thought that death would claim that boy's life so early? Just as things were going well from him too." Bane thought to himself as he tried his best to not snap and end the unjust game before his eyes.

But before anyone could say anything, Aoi had dropped his racquet and knelt on the ground. Tears began to flow from his eyes that startled Ryoma. "Why are you crying over my death? We all die, you idiot! I just happened to go first before the rest of you guys." Ryoma yelled out. Aoi looked around; he knew he heard Ryoma's voice. He wasn't crazy. "Echizen-kun? Echizen-kun! Show yourself! I know you're here somewhere!" Aoi called out. Saeki and the rest of Rokkakku's regulars quickly ran to Aoi's side.

"O-oi… Kentaro… Echizen isn't here." Ryou spoke softly and with concern for his young captain. "No! I heard him! I heard Echizen-kun just now! He asked why I was crying over his death and that everyone dies! He also said that it just so happens that death took him first before the rest of us!" Aoi yelled as more tears ran down his eyes. Ryoma sighed and knew that he had to stop talking out loud before the people who hear him would be labeled as insane for hearing dead people's voices.

"I think we could call it a day. Come on Kentaro. Time for us to go home and rest." Saeki said as he tried to help Aoi stand up but Aoi's facial expression when from sad to angry. "I heard him! Echizen-kun was here! Echizen-kun!" Aoi called out again, looking around his surroundings. Ryoma knew he had to do something or things would get worst. He floated down next to Aoi and sighed.

"I know you can hear me, you idiot. I don't know how or why. But before your teammates think that you've gone crazy, stop telling them you can hear me. I can't explain why but it's only you who can hear me for now. I'll talk to you when you fall asleep. Just stop scaring your sempais and go home so that you all can sleep." Ryoma said with his cold tone but Aoi saw a hint of concern. Aoi merely nodded and stopped fussing.

"I-I think we all should just go home now… It's been a long day." He told everyone and quickly exited the court and headed to the locker room to change. He wanted to get home as quickly as he could so that he could talk to Ryoma again. Saeki and Bane took Aoi home; they had to make sure that he could get home safe. Then, they both went their separate ways.

They all really had a rough week after the funeral and wondered how Seigaku was trying to recover from everything that just happened: winning the National Championship thanks to Ryoma but losing him a few weeks after. That must have been a huge blow to them all, not to mention to Ryoma's parents who were so proud of him and his older brother who looked far worse than their parents when he saw Ryoma's blown up photo.

Aoi moved fast around his house: greeting his family, taking a shower, having dinner, breezing through his homework, then went to bed. "Echizen-kun, I don't know if you're here now but I really just want to talk to you. There are questions I want to ask you and you're the only one who can give me the answers." Aoi spoke out loud in his empty bedroom. And indeed, Ryoma was there. The green hair ghost sighed again and he waited for Aoi to fall asleep.

 

(DREAM MODE)

Ryoma didn't have to wait long. Sleep came fast for Aoi and Ryoma was once again amongst the dream clouds. Aoi saw Ryoma the moment he turned around. "Echizen-kun!" Aoi called out loud which made Ryoma wince. "Even in your dreams your voice is still that loud. No need to shout you know." Ryoma told Aoi. Instantly, Aoi was a few feet away from Ryoma.

"Echizen-kun, I want to know why no one else could hear you but me." He asked in a rushed voice. Ryoma turned and scratched his temple, "Well… I don't really know why. But aside from you, Kevin Smith of the American Team, Yuuta Fuji of St. Rudolph, Shinji Ibu of Fudomine, and I'm not sure of Reiji from Josei Shonan but they could hear me like you can but their teammates couldn't." Ryoma answered.

Not long after, the rest of Rokkakku came all together, as if they were afraid of fallen out of the clouds when they least expected it. "Minna-san! You're all here! See? I told you I heard Echizen-kun earlier!" Aoi called out to them with glee. Amane looked pale as a ghost. Itsuki was just in awe. Saeki and Bane couldn't move for a few minutes. "H-how is this possible?" Bane asked in total disbelief. "Is this not a dream?" Ryoma smirked and sounded cocky, like he usually did.

Because of this, Saeki snapped back to his old self. "Echizen-kun, did you do this? Bring us all together in one dream?" Saeki asked. Ryoma shivered for a moment, the guy was really similar to his on sempai, Fuji. They knew things before he could explain. He merely nodded and sighed once again.

"I did this because I was not able to bid you all a proper farewell. Though I didn't expect to die this young, I had a feeling that I wouldn't live long enough to turn twenty… [sighs] And here is my dilemma again… I came to say thank you. Thanks for being a big help for Seigaku to be where we are now. Thanks for being good sports and great allies when no one else was there to cheer us on." Ryoma turned away so that they wouldn't see him being soft.

Saeki understood, Ryou smiled and nodded, Itsuki and Bane smiled as they took care of Aoi who was crying again. Amane looked like he was in deep thought which made everyone think if he was going to say another stupid joke. "Ryoma Echizen-kun, you are most welcome. You and your team have taught us a lot more than you think. And because of that, we, Rokkakku will be eternally grateful. Yes, it was sad that you had to die at such a young age. But you have left an irremovable mark on the lives of everyone you have met, faced, and conquered. You will never be forgotten." Amane said and bowed respectfully.

Not only Ryoma but Amane's teammates were in shock. They had never heard him speak that way and most certainly not with respect for someone who is younger than he was. But they all recovered and the rest of Rokkakku bowed after Amane. This made Ryoma blush a little and turned away again. Aoi chuckled as he saw the green haired boy look away. "Ryoma-kun, when we meet each other again, I will have to claim that rematch you promised me when you defeated me in an official match." Aoi smiled.

"That would take a little while… Don't worry; I'll give you your desired rematch. With the rest of the other players that I have defeated and promised a rematch with." Ryoma said. He knew that his time was up with them. "Well, time for me to go now, Rokkakku. Keep practicing and keep fighting to reach the top." He told them before he completely disappeared from them.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Rokkakku woke up to a brand new day and Aoi looked forward to the day that he would see Echizen again and claim the promised match that will be one Aoi will forever remember.


	8. Doppleganger and Mr. I'm-Too-Cool-To-Be-Soft-Once-In-A-While

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> PREVIOUSLY:
> 
> "That would take a little while… Don't worry; I'll give you your desired rematch. With the rest of the other players that I have defeated and promised a rematch with." Ryoma said. He knew that his time was up with them. "Well, time for me to go now, Rokkakku. Keep practicing and keep fighting to reach the top." He told them before he completely disappeared from them.
> 
> Rokkakku woke up to a brand new day and Aoi looked forward to the day that he would see Echizen again and claim the promised match that will be one Aoi will forever remember.

Taichi Dan was still in ruins. The one person he looked up that made a big change in his life was no longer alive. He was never going to see Ryoma again. He was never going to show Ryoma how much he improved with his skills. He was that crushed. Sengoku and the rest tried their best to comfort their own little freshman. They knew how much Dan held Ryoma Echizen of Seigaku high in his pedestal. He was the reason why Dan stopped being a manager and went to be a tennis player.

Despite not showing he cared, Jin stayed closed to Yamabuki's courts whenever Dan was there. Even Touji, Minami, and Masami moved carefully around Dan. Any sudden mention of Ryoma or Seigaku would send the special freshman out the court, crying. And it broke their hearts when they saw him cry the first time at the funeral, crying over Echizen's photo. "I wonder how long he'll be like this. He has to snap out sooner or later." Sengoku said with concerned. The rest agreed.

Dan came and looked like he was going to break at any given point. Banji resumed the usual tennis practice with caution. Everything Dan did, it reminded him strongly of Echizen. This was Dan's biggest crisis. Ryoma looked concerned from above. "He's just like, Ibu, Reiji, Kei, Kevin, Yuuta and Aoi. They all shattered into pieces after my death. Was I that important to them?" he asked himself. He wasn't sure of the answer though. But he had a feeling that he was going to find out soon enough.

Ryoma saw Akutsu Jin enter the courts just as Dan positioned himself at the very back of everyone. He didn't want people to see him the way he was at the moment. Since he was being called a copy of Ryoma Echizen, Dan thought that he had to act like how Echizen acted, cold and passive. But that was something Dan was trying to do but was obviously failing at it. He just didn't have to be like Ryoma.

Jin stood next to Dan as the boy hugged his knees close to his chest, "Gomenasai, Akutsu-sempai. I guess I won't be able to fulfill my promise of being like Echizen-kun desu. I think I can't be anything like him…" he faded off. Jin sighed and turned to scare away a few freshmen who were in hearing range. "Taichi, no one ever said you have to be like him. I for one just said that the brat was something you can be like in terms of height, skills, and potential. I never said you have to act like him too." He told Dan.

"Beside, your Taichi Dan, not Ryoma Echizen. You may look like him with the hat and the stature, but you two are different players. I'm sure the brat wouldn't like seeing you this way." Jin tried to comfort despite the hard facial expression. "Yeah, I may not show it but I do care about the people I have met and faced, whether I won or lose." Ryoma whispered. Both Jin and Dan looked up. "D-did you hear that, Akutsu-sempai?" Dan said as he looked at Jin.

Jin on the other hand was frozen solid, "Did I just hear the brat's voice?" he asked himself. "Sempai?" Dan called out again. "I'm not sure, Taichi. But I'm sure as hell that the voice belonged to the brat." He answered. Ryoma smirked. This was a first for him. After six nights, this was the first time that two instead of one can hear him at the same time. Though Ryoma knew he would never be seen unless he wanted to show himself, he was just surprised that Jin and Dan both heard him together.

"Oh? This is something new… Two people can hear me instead of one… And to make it more surprising, even Devil Jin can hear me…" Ryoma snorted. Akutsu growled a little after hearing the voice call him 'Devil Jin'. It was something the green haired brat would probably call him to his face. "Taichi, we better go now or I might actually impale a random person for me thinking that I'm hearing the brat's voice." Akutsu said as he walked away, Dan quickly following him. He was scared that he could her Ryoma's voice. Who wouldn't, right?

That night, Akutsu finally laid flat across his bed and sighed. The day seemed weird the whole time. He could sense that he and Taichi were never alone and that the familiar voice seemed to speak to them when they least expected. He didn't have the energy anymore to fight off his mind.

(DREAM MODE)

Akutsu found himself in an unfamiliar setting. Since when did he dreamt of clouds? This was unspeakable. However, not too long after he thought he was alone, he ran into Sengoku, Touji, Minami, Masami, and Dan. "Akutsu-sempai! Where are we?" Dan asked out loud which made everyone cover their ears. Out of nowhere, Ryoma came, wincing in pain of the sudden yell.

"Seriously? Why do you people keep on shouting?" Ryoma asked with an annoyed tone. Yamabuki fell into a deep state of shock, even Akutsu. Ryoma watched them for a while then sighed. "How long do you guys plan to stay that way?" he asked his usual confident and cocky tone. They snapped out of their daze and glared at him, all except Dan. "Echizen-kun, is that really you desu?" Dan asked. Ryoma turned to him, "Do you know anyone who is named Ryoma Echizen, looks a carbon copy of me, and a legendary tennis prince?" he said with arrogance.

Akutsu sneered. "Even in death, you're still the same brat we all knew you to be." He smirked at his ex-opponent. Ryoma simply smirked back. "Of course. I will always be Echizen Ryoma, death or alive." Then he started to float and lay sideways. "I better get straight to my point before my time runs out… Yamabuki-chuu… Thanks for all the things that Seigaku learned from facing you. Thanks for being nice to us until the end." Ryoma began.

"And… I wanted to talk you all for going to my funeral. Though I don't know why it's such a big deal to everyone that I'm dead, I do appreciate the gesture. And I'm sorry… For not being able to say good bye properly." As Ryoma spoke, Dan was crying behind Akutsu. How can Ryoma be cool despite knowing that his dead and would never come back? Ryoma noticed that Dan was hiding but didn't try to push.

"Yo, Taichi Dan of Yamabuki, you better not bring same to my Twist Serve that you can use well now. You master it and try to create tennis of your own… Being small isn't a problem and you know it. Show the world that despite being small, you can do something big that would shake the ground the people walk on." Ryoma advised with a smirk on his face. Dan understood what Ryoma meant.

"Akutsu-sempai, thanks for the tennis beating and the rocks. I got stronger because of you. I tried my hardest to beat you at the very game that you think if just nothing… And do take care of Dan now. If trained properly, he might become the second Ryoma Echizen, Tennis no Ouji-sama…" Ryoma said with confidence, confidence that Taichi had what it takes to be great as well.

"Lucky Sengoku, keep being lucky… How I just wish that you're as lucky with girls as you are with tennis." Ryoma teased. He then turned to Touji, "We may not have known each other that long or even spoke at all, show the world that with our size, we can create and do better tennis than most regular sized players do." Touji nodded. Ryoma turned and noticed the light slowly creeping in.

"Well, time for me to go… Oh, Dan, Akutsu-sempai, when we meet again, you both owe me a match. You better not disappointment." Ryoma said as he slowly floated away. Akutsu sneered, "You better not suck when we meet again, brat." "Echizen-kun, I will train and do my best until we meet again somewhere." Dan spoke with a smile on his face. Ryoma nodded and disappeared into the light.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The next day at school, Yamabuki was heading out their locker room when a cool wind blew by then a whisper, "Good luck to you, Yamabuki-chuu." Ryoma's voice seemed like he was encouraging them and was happy about it. "'till the next time we see each other again, Echizen-kun." Dan spoke softly to the air.


	9. I'm Going To Ask Kami-Sama If He Has A Blue Hair Child That Loves To Play Tennis

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> PREVIOUSLY:
> 
> The next day at school, Yamabuki was heading out their locker room when a cool wind blew by then a whisper, "Good luck to you, Yamabuki-chuu." Ryoma's voice seemed like he was encouraging them and was happy about it. "'till the next time we see each other again, Echizen-kun." Dan spoke softly to the air.

Yukimura was sitting quietly by the stands, watching his vice-captain and closest friend, Genichiro Sanada play a one-sided match with Yanagi. Rikkaidai's god of data was losing miserably. Despite knowing what move Sanada would use and know where the serve and returns would land, Yanagi was not able to beat him. It was as if Sanada suddenly became stronger. Then, it was then that Yukimura saw it.

Sanada's cap was lower than it usually was. The vice-captain's eyes were in the brink of tears. But because of the constant movement, no one was able to get a real good look. Except for Yukimura. His observation skills was always sharper when it came to Sanada. Yagyuu looked like he wasn't going to last another round with a pissed Sanada on the court. The guy was known to be colder and merciless when he wasn't in the mood.

Kirihara wondered why his fuku-bucho was playing harshly. Jackal and Bunta stood silently next to Kirihara and understood without being told why Sanada was the way he was that moment. He was more affected about Ryoma Echizen's death than he showed. Sanada never really revealed how he felt about anyone, except for Yukimura. But before the whole tennis club of Rikkaidai, Sanada was losing himself.

After a few more minutes, Yukimura stood up and had a concerned look on his face. "You better stop now, Genichiro. Yanagi will never play a match with you the way Echizen-kun of Seigaku could." No one spoke. Sanada froze dead on his tracks. Kirihara finally understood and was in shock. "Did Sanada-san really imagine he was playing against Echizen?" Kirihara asked himself mentally.

Sanada gripped his racquet tighter and slowly turned to look at Yukimura. "I know he could be heartless… but how can he be this cool?" Sanada's mind was spiraling out of his control. Then before he knew what was happening, Yukimura was already standing beside him, holding on the racquet's rim with eyes that was filled with tears. "I am in pain as well, Genichiro… But if the boy was here, he wouldn't want to see you the way you are now." Yukimura's voice was also in misery. Sanada let loose his grip and Yukimura took the racquet away and led his friend to the locker room.

Ryoma was just in time to see the two leaders leave the courts. "I wonder what happened." Ryoma asked himself and floated down to where Kirihara was. The atmosphere was a bit gloomy but Ryoma thought that it was because they had not become the Emperors like they thought they would. "Did you all see that? I can't believe it!" Kirihara cried. Jackal, Yagyuu, Yanagi, Niou, and Bunta nodded. They too had never seen Sanada that way before.

"But we can't blame him… We all know why he became the way he was earlier all of a sudden." Yagyuu, Rikkaidai's "Gentleman" spoke softly. "Besides, like Yukimura, Sanada was looking forward to facing Seigaku's super rookie in an official match. A rematch that Echizen himself promised. Also to Yukimura." Niou added using Yagyuu's voice. Even on a normal basis, Niou was being his trickster self and often enjoyed confusing his teammates. Bunta, Jackal, and Yanagi sighed.

Kirihara finally understood why Sanada was acting the way he did. Everyone finally understood and saw for themselves how he really felt after knowing the death of Echizen. Bunta closed the donut box he was holding and gave it to Jackal instead. Everyone was really depressed after seeing their vice-captain shatter into pieces in front of the whole tennis team. Ryoma pouted upon hearing what Rikkaidai's regulars were discussing. Without second thought, Ryoma floated to the locker room.

Sanada quickly went to the showers why Yukimura remained by the long chairs. He was looking out the window while he listened to Sanada shower. The water running down the shower was the only sound that anyone inside could hear. Indeed, even the cold Rikkaidai chiefs were not as heartless as people thought they were. Ryoma floated inside and sat near Yukimura. "You know Genichiro, this is something funny… To think that you and I never show how we really feel… But here comes the news of Echizen-kun's death… And we are all left with feelings of anger, betrayal, hurt, sorrow, and grief." Yukimura said softly.

He knew that Sanada could hear him despite the loud noise the water was making. After a few minutes, Sanada came out with just a towel wrapped around his waist. His hair was dripping went but he didn't seem to care. "Yukimura… My mind is telling me to deny what you uttered… But deep down, I know you were right. Echizen has indeed caused me sadness. To have faced him and lose was a huge blow to my tennis. He promised me a rematch. However he has not lived long enough to fulfill it, which has made me feel that I was betrayed somehow." Sanada explained.

Ryoma didn't want to hear any more, so he flew out the locker room.

Outside, Ryoma was trying to gather his spiritual wits. Did he just hear Sanada and Yukimura say that his death had indeed caused them pain? He didn't know what to think anymore. Then he saw Kirihara and just had to release some steam. Ryoma smirked as he floated to where Kirihara was standing with Jackal and Bunta. Jackal left to talk to Yanagi and Niou, leaving Bunta and Kirihara to talk about the post-funeral atmosphere they still have.

"I just can't believe that someone younger than me died in their sleep." Kirihara said with a frightened tone. He was wondering if he would die the same way too. Ryoma passed through Kirihara and the seaweed haired boy shuddered. "Whoa… What w-was that?" he cried out as he held himself. He suddenly felt cold. "What happened?" asked Bunta as he was about to eat the donut in his hand. "I felt cold as if a cold wind passed through me." answered Kirihara.

"Huh? What do you mean?" asked Bunta. Kirihara was still shaking. He was trying to figure out what just happened to him. Before Kirihara could say anything, Bunta's donut box floated from the bench that was behind the red head sempai. Kirihara's eyes were as big as tennis balls. Bunta was oblivious as of yet but when Kirihara pointed at something behind him, Bunta turned around to see his donut box floating.

The last thing Kirihara saw was Bunta's back. His sempai ran as fast as he could, far away from the haunted donut box. Ryoma was trying his best not to burst out laughing. Ryoma wondered if Kirihara could hear him like Kevin and Yuuta. "Kirihara Akaya… You have been trailed and found guilty of numerous crimes… Time has come for you to feel how your victims of pain and cruelty felt…" Ryoma said in a fake deep voice.

Fake as it was, it seemed to work because Ryoma saw Kirihara running after his sempai. A few moments later, Ryoma dropped the box and laughed. Jackal, Niou, and Yanagi came just in time to see the box fall from midair and hear an all-too familiar laughter. "Do you hear that? Does it sound like—" Yanagi didn't continue. "What Yanagi? Sound like?" asked Jackal. Yanagi was thinking whether to ask or not.

"It's impossible… But… The laugh sounded like Echizen Ryoma." Yanagi answered. Niou's bubble gum bubble popped and Jackal was frozen in his position. Did they hear Yanagi right? Did he just say it sounded like Echizen of Seigaku laughing? "A-are you sure Yanagi?" asked Jackal. Niou didn't speak a word. He was too dumbfounded to say anything. "Uhm… I'm 90.75% sure that it sounded like Seigaku's departed pillar. But then again, I might be wrong since I didn't know him personally." Yanagi answered then headed off to find Yukimura and Sanada.

~oO0Oo~

That night, Yukimura was drying his hair when Ryoma floated in through the window. For a second, Yukimura didn't move. Then he smiled at his empty room. "I know that I'm not alone. And whoever you are, please do not mess my room. Good night." He greeted his invisible guest and turned off his lights.

(DREAM MODE)

Yukimura found himself walking around the clouds. He didn't know where he was or why he was there. But he knew he was dreaming. He dreamt about clouds a few times before. This was not a first for him. After a few moments of being alone, Sanada appeared with the rest of the Rikkaidai regulars. "Taicho! Are we all dead now too?" Kirihara asked in a frighten tone. He didn't expect to die so young as well.

Yukimura simply smiled and shook his head. "We're all in one dream. That's all. And as soon as he appears, we'll know why we're all gathered together." Yukimura told them softly. This got the rest confused. "We're they brought together by someone they know? But how could that person do this thing?

"Echizen-kun, I think it's time for you to show yourself." Chuckled Yukimura. Everyone gasped. Echizen was amongst them? In a blink of an eye, Echizen appeared next to Kirihara with a scary face. "AHHHHHHHHHHHHH!" screamed Kirihara and Bunta. Both jumped into the air, landed back, then hid behind Jackal and Yanagi. Niou was frozen solid.

Ryoma then laughed heartily. Kirihara then hardened his face in anger. "Oi Echizen! That wasn't funny!" the seaweed hair protested. When Ryoma finished laughing, "Not funny? You should have seen your face. It was definitely worth the effort." Ryoma said in in cocky voice. "Even in death, his still the same old Echizen." Thought Yanagi, Yukimura, Jackal, and Sanada.

"Why did you bring us all together in one dream, Echizen?" asked Jackal. He had been patient, waiting for someone to ask but no one did. So he asked. Ryoma's laughter died down then he began to fluster. Like he did when he first met with Higa-chuu in their dreams. "Well… You see…" Ryoma began. He was having a bit of trouble finding the right words to say. Sanada never took his eyes of Ryoma.

"I was told by Kami-sama that I have enough time to say goodbye to people who I left behind…" he began and turned around to hide his blush. Whoever said that ghost couldn't blush should die and become ghosts too to prove their theory. Without another word, Sanada stretched out his hand towards Echizen and showed the boy a smile. "Thank you, Echizen. For giving time to bid us goodbye." The older boy said.

Everyone waited for Ryoma to speak. Everyone was in shock. Then, Ryoma reached out and accepted Sanada's hand. Kami-sama must really like Ryoma to allow him to physically touch Sanada and shake his hand. "No thank you. Because of you, we got stronger. Because of Rikkaidai's power and long running victory, Seigaku aimed to achieve what you had. And we have." Ryoma smiled at everyone.

He turned back to look at Sanada, "I haven't thanked you for the help you did when I lost my memory. Despite the fact that I was going to face your captain, you still helped me regain what I lost. Thank you very much." Ryoma said and bowed. He turned to Yukimura, You should get healed all the way and face my captain during the world tennis cup. It would be another try at victory." Ryoma suggested.

"I'll think about it, boy. But thank you for suggesting." Yukimura said. Ryoma looked around, his time was almost up. "Kirihara, you better practice hard. Your tennis sucks and I might just crush you again when we meet up again." Ryoma teased. "Ha! Baka ja nai. I'll never lose twice to the same person." Kirihara said confidently. "Until we meet again, Ryoma." He added as he turned around.

"Until we meet again, Echizen. Don't let your guard down." Niou said with his perfect Tezuka imitation. Ryoma simply nodded. "I think bidding you guys good bye has been the a good one." Ryoma turned around, about to walk away. "Echizen, when we meet again, wherever, have a match with me." Sanada said. "Don't forget me." Yukimura added with a warm smile. Ryoma turned to face them, he was starting to vanish. "Sure, beating you both again with just prove that I'm the greatest." He said confidently.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

When morning came, the Rikkaidai regulars had smiles on their faces. They knew that Ryoma was going to a good place and that they were privileged that he took time to bid them all goodbye. Yukimura opened his bedroom window and a cool morning breeze blew by. "Yes, until we meet again, Echizen-kun." He whispered to the wind.


	10. Stop Calling Me Koshimae! You Red Haired Plague

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> PREVIOUSLY:
> 
> When morning came, the Rikkaidai regulars had smiles on their faces. They knew that Ryoma was going to a good place and that they were privileged that he took time to bid them all goodbye. Yukimura opened his bedroom window and a cool morning breeze blew by. "Yes, until we meet again, Echizen-kun." He whispered to the wind.

Ryoma was stuck. He didn't know who else he had to visit. By far he had visited (and tormented) Higa-chuu, the American Team, St. Rudolph, Fudomine, Josei Shonan, Rokkakku, Yamabuki, and Rikkaidai. He already planned to visit Hyotei and Seigaku last. He had one extra day left. Who did he miss? Ryoma thought for a really long time. He paced back and forth amongst the clouds. He tried his best to remember but nothing came up.

After what seemed like forever, clouds parted and an angel came down. She was blushing as it slowly came closer to where Ryoma was. He silently watched as the angle approached him. It looked like it was hesitating to come close. Then, something happened. And Ryoma didn't expect it at all. The angel tripped on its long white dress. She fell face first into the cloud floor with a scream.

Ryoma sighed. "I didn't know angels can be clumsy too." He thought to himself. "Che, are really an angel? I've never seen a clumsy one before?" he told her as she sat up, blushing harder. "G-gomen, R-ryoma-san…" She stuttered. Ryoma sat a few feet away from her, "Who are you? And why are you here?" he asked her. The angel blushed harder. "Gomenasai, Ryoma-san! I don't know where my manners are!" she yelled as she bowed. This startled the green haired boy.

"Please call me Ten-chan. That's the name Kami-sama gave me. And I was told to come here by Kami-sama to show you something." She said as she pulled out a bowl of water from the air. This made Ryoma curious. She stood up and moved closer to where he was. And she gave him the medium size bowl filled with water. "W-what am I supposed to do with a bowl of water?" he asked, almost snapping.

"Watch…" she simply said as she touched the surface with her pointing finger, creating a light ripple across its surface. And before his own eyes, Ryoma saw it.

Shiraishi was holding Kintaro in his arms.

Kintaro had been crying.

Ryoma saw his eyes.

"Koshimae! I want to see him! You're all just joking! A very bad joke! When Koshimae would know, he'd kick all your butts! Just you all wait." Kintaro yelled out loud.

"N-n-ne… Koshimae? Is this all true? You're really gone?" Kintaro asked with a shaking voice.

Even his voice was shaking. Not only his body.

Kintaro looked back and saw everyone was getting more emotional with his screams.

Gin had silently prayed while the rest was trying to calm Kintaro.

Chitose turned to look at Tezuka who had a look of pure devastation etched across his face.

"This funeral brings out everyone's most hidden feelings of that kid." Chitose spoke.

"Thank you for everything, Ryoma Echizen." Was all Shiraishi could say before they went down.

Then the moving images stopped and the bowl disappeared. Ten-chan had sat back down away from his when Ryoma had snapped out of his shocked state. Shitenhoji… That was who he forgot. Without warning, Ten-chan snapped her fingers and clouds began to encircle Ryoma. He looked at her and she gave him a warm smile. "Another gift from Kami-sama." She told him before he disappeared.

~oO0Oo~

The next thing he knew, he was standing outside the gates of Shitenhoji. He took a very deep breath before crossing the entrance to Shitenhoji. But before he could enter, Gin arrived with Yuuji and Koharu. All three looked like they had been to a funeral. "They have. Your funeral to be specific." Ryoma's thoughts reminded him. He looked away, not wanting to see how he was affecting them.

He followed them to the tennis courts. None of the three spoke during the walk. They were all gloomy and depressed. Before Ryoma could scanned the whole area, his eyes locked itself towards the locker room. He could hear loud screams and other noises from that direction. But what surprised Ryoma was that the three tennis members didn't run to check what it was.

Instead, they looked down on the ground with their fists clutched tightly. They looked more devastated and in pain than a few minutes ago. Ryoma decided to check what it was. He quickly flew towards the locker room and looked through the window. He saw Shiraishi, Chitose, and Zaizen trying to dodge flying objects in the small area. Ryoma wondered who was throwing the objects. He when through the wall and saw that Kintaro was responsible for the screams and the huge mess.

The three seniors were getting tired of dodging. But they were surprised when the objects stopped flying towards them. They saw Kintaro holding a tennis racquet similar to the one Ryoma owned. Kintaro stared at it with eyes as deep as the ocean. Tears were coming down and he didn't stop them. Ryoma was taken aback. What was happening?

Gin entered with Koharu and Yuuji behind him. He walked towards Kintaro and scooped him into his uninjured arm. The red head held on to Gin's neck while holding the racquet with his other hand. "Kintaro…" what all Shiraishi said before Gin took Kintaro out the locker room. "He trashed the place," began Koharu. "But we can't blame him. He was never really good with words." Yuuji finished.

Chitose and Shiraishi began to pick up and clean the messy locker room. The other three helped.

Outside, Kintaro had fallen asleep during the way to a big tree where Gin placed him. Slowly, Kintaro held the racquet close to him as tears fell down his cheek. Ryoma was crushed. Why was Kintaro throwing things? Why did he have a racquet that looked like his own? And why was he holding on to it? Ryoma didn't really know why. He was clueless when it came to such things.

Ten-chan appeared next to Kintaro. She stroked his hair slowly. "If only you can see his heart, Ryoma-san. It's broken into a million pieces. Kintaro-kun wasn't able to take your departure well like the others." She said. Her voice was full of pity for Kintaro. "His pure heart was shattered. Will you fix it before you leave everyone?" she asked him.

Ryoma didn't know what to say. He was the reason why the annoying redhead was throwing a massive temper tantrum? This was too much to take for Ryoma. He didn't expect he would have influenced anyone, let alone a rival. Ryoma thought of what Ten-chan asked of him. "…Will you fix it before you leave everyone?" she asked him." Her voice echoed through his mind. He had to do something.

~oO0Oo~

That late afternoon, Ryoma followed Gin and the rest of Shitenhoji who were bringing the sleeping Kintaro home. Ryoma saw how simple Kintaro's home was but saw how concerned his family was of him. "We are deep sorry for what our son has been acting recently." Kinatro's mom apologized and bowed. "Yes, since you all got back from your trip to the Kanto district, he hasn't been the same since. He's been quiet and moody. He would barely laugh and joke around with his brothers and sisters." The father added.

Shiraishi and the rest understood. "Please understand him for now. He is going through a very rough phase. We all are." The captain explained. Kintaro's parents were confused. Did something happen to their son? "Please tell us what is going on. We can't bear to see Kin-chan the way he is now." The mother pleaded. They had no choice but to tell them. They had to know since Kintaro was very much troubled by the matter.

"You see, we went to the Kanto District to attend a funeral…" Shiraishi began. The parents' eyes widen in shock. "Someone Kintaro looked up to had passed away… And that person had promised him a tennis match since he wasn't able to face Kintaro on an official match." Added Chitose. "You mean this person you speak of is a tennis player?" asked the father. The team nodded.

"Hai, Echizen Ryoma of the Seigaku Tennis team. The one Kintaro calls Koshimae." Gin continued the explanation. This caused the parents to be more surprised. Kintaro had always kept telling them that one day he will play a match against Koshimae. Kintaro's mom shed tears which surprised the team. "No wonder he is in ruins. He had always mentioned how great this Koshimae is. Kin-chan swore that he would face him in an official match someday." The father told everyone.

The team began to understand that Kintaro had, more or less, hoped and dream of playing against Echizen. All the while, Ryoma was listening to the whole conversation. He was now responsible for fixing the broken red head menace.

(DREAM MODE)

Kintaro woke up, seeing his teammates surrounding him. "Why are you all in my bedroom?" he asked in a sleepy and sad voice. Everyone moved back. "We're not in your bedroom, Kin-chan." Yuuji said. It was then that Kintaro saw that the place they presently were was surrounded my clouds. "Where are we?" he asked again, hoping Koharu would know. But alas, everyone shook their heads. No one knew where they were.

Ryoma slowly appeared as a bright light that caught everyone attention and blinded them. "Don't worry. You're all in a dream. A connected dream that is." Ryoma said as he stood in front of everyone. Koharu and Yuuji wanted to faint. Shiraishi, Chitose, and Zaizen were in total shock. Kintaro on the other hand, was smiling as he saw Ryoma. "Dream? Hahaha… You really are funny, Koshimae! I'm amazed how you managed to get the whole room filled with cloud like smoke but I'm not complaining. It's like we're in the clouds." Kintaro said as he stood up.

Ryoma knew that it was going to take a little bit more to help Kintaro deal with the situation. "Kintaro… This really is just a dream. I'm nothing more than a ghost now. I came to tell you something before I leave permanently." Ryoma began to explain but Kintaro interrupted. "You're going to leave? You're going to America again, aren't you? Che… You'll surely join more tennis games there and win them without even blinking." He said with a mock pout.

"But then again, it will make you stronger. And it would be good because when you come back, you'll have a match with me. And surely I'll be stronger too." He finished with a laugh. This made everyone look away. They believed everything Ryoma was telling them. The problem was how to convince Kintaro.

Then they all saw Kintaro was getting ready to jump or something. The next thing they all saw was him jumping towards Ryoma and passing right through him. Kintaro's eyes were in shock but quickly recovered. "Wow! How did you do that Koshimae? Is this what they call virtual image or something? I remember my nii-chan mentioning something about it." Kintaro said as he stood back up.

The team was getting a bit worried. Was Kintaro really that depressed that he wouldn't believe Echizen being dead. But before anyone else could say anything, Ryoma walked through Kintaro, not once but three or four times. Kintaro stood there, frozen. Why was Ryoma's virtual image going through him. "Why—" Kintaro began. "Why can't you just believe and accept that I'm dead?" Ryoma screamed loud.

To say that everyone was in shock was an understatement. "E-echizen…" Chitose called out. "Don't you get it? I'm dead! I no longer exist, you annoying red head! I can no longer touch anything! I can't even hold a damn racquet!" Ryoma kept on yelling at Kintaro. No one seemed to stop him. Maybe it was the only plan left to make Kintaro move on. Ryoma turned to look at Kintaro, his eyes filled with anger.

"Just accept that fact and move on! You're making everyone suffer with you! I'm dead and no amount of tears will bring me back! How hard is that to understand?" Ryoma finished. Kintaro fell back down, shaking. It was the first time he saw Ryoma that mad. "Y-you're… Dead? Koshimae? You're kidding right?" Kintaro asking, his voice shaking. "Does it look like I'm kidding?" Ryoma asked back.

Kintaro hugged his knees. Gin and the rest were so tempted to stop Ryoma but they knew that it was the only way to make Kintaro grasp the reality that when they all wake up the next day, Ryoma will remain dead. Ryoma sighed and kneeled down beside the shaking Kintaro. "You idiot." He began with a warm and comforting smile. "I may be physically gone… But that doesn't mean you won't see me again. Not anytime soon but you'll see me again someday." He told Kintaro.

The red head sat up and looked up at Ryoma. "Y-you promise? I'll see you again?" he asked. Ryoma nodded and patted his head. "Yeah, and when that times comes, I'll play a match with you. Everyone will be there. All the tennis teams we have fought and crossed. They'll be watching." He told Kintaro. It was a promise Ryoma knew he could keep. "So, while your still alive, you better keep practicing so that when you see me again and play with me, you'll give me an entertaining match, alright?" he teased Kintaro.

Instantly, Kintaro stood up feeling energized and revived. "Of course! I'll make more techniques and beat you in the end!" he said cheerfully. Shiraishi began to smile and shed tears, the rest did as well. Ryoma was all they needed to make Kin-chan himself again.

Kintaro turned to look at his teemmates, "Did you hear that Shiraishi? Koshimae said that I'll see him again someday and have a match with me!" he was happy again. Kintaro turned back to face Ryoma with tears in his eyes. Ryoma chuckled and miraculously was able to wipe the tears away. "Stop crying or I'll change my mind of playing with you, you red head menace." He joke. Everyone chuckled as well.

Kintaro wiped his tears and gave Ryoma a brave face, "I promise to never cry again. Until I see you and play with you, Koshimae." He promised Ryoma. Everyone began to see Ryoma slowly beginning to vanish. "It's time for me to take my leave for now. I wanted to bid you all good bye but making you idiot freshman accept my death took more time than I thought. So, I'll make this short. Thanks for facing Seigaku. You made us strong. You all keep going after your goals and reach the top with your tennis." Ryoma encouraged them.

"Until we meet again, ja nai…" he said as he turned and disappeared completely.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Morning came and the Shitenhoji Tennis team was filled with new hope. Kintaro jumped out of bed with a smile on his face, knowing that he'd see Ryoma again. "Not soon, but someday…" Kintaro repeated what Ryoma told him. Then he went down to greet his family a good morning and get ready for a new day.


	11. Monkey King, I didn't Know You Cared

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> PREVIOUSLY:
> 
> Morning came and the Shitenhoji Tennis team was filled with new hope. Kintaro jumped out of bed with a smile on his face, knowing that he'd see Ryoma again. "Not soon, but someday…" Kintaro repeated what Ryoma told him. Then he went down to greet his family a good morning and get ready for a new day.

Ryoma was happy that he got to make Kintaro move on. It took him most of the time that was meant for his apology and farewell speech but it was worth it. Ten-chan had appeared with a smile of her face. "Arigato, Ryoma-san. It was kind of you to have done what you did for Kin-chan." She told him. Ryoma turned around to avoid showing that he was actually smiling.

She floated down beside him and tilted her head a little, "Where will you go next? And Kami-sama sent me to remind you that you have three nights left. Tonight being one of the last three." She said. Ryoma was in deep thought. Where was he going to go next? He thought for what seemed like an hour or two. He paced back and forth which made Ten-chan dizzy.

Then he stood up and had an evil smirk on his face. "With you please open up a path to…" he was excited to scare the crap out of the whole team.

~oO0Oo~

Everyone was still threading when they passed by their silent captain. Even Oshitari was warned by Atobe to not speak of Echizen whenever he was within hearing range. Some of the regulars thought that it was just a passing phase. But days had already passed yet Atobe remain touchy and sensitive.

The practices were earlier, longer, and more brutal than before. And no one dared to disobey nor skip. Mukahi thought it would have been funny to see Atobe snap, "I don't think that's a good idea, Mukahi-san." Choutaro piped as he heard the plot. Even Ryo agreed with Choutaro. "It wouldn't end well." Added Hiyoshi. Even he didn't wanted to talk about Ryoma.

Ryoma came just in time to see Atobe come into view of the tennis courts. He was floating next to the sleeping Jirou. "This guy will probably sleep most of the practice." Ryoma told himself. Then Atobe came and entered the courts. "You know, I thought I saw someone that looked like the brat from Seigaku this morning." Mukahi said out loud. Everyone froze in the tracks as they saw a tennis ball fly across the courts and hit Mukahi right in the middle of his forehead.

"Didn't I warn you all before?" Atobe spoke with a cold and spin-chilling tone. He looked so angry yet devastated at the same time. Mukahi was on the floor, holding his forehead in pain. Atobe and Kabaji proceeded to the locker room to change into their practice clothes. Everyone watched as their captain left. Ryoma smirked and was no longer surprised that there was one who was affected by his death.

When Choutaro turned to look for Jirou, he saw the sempai sleeping under a tree. But what surprised him most was the fact that he could see a figure standing near his sempai. Choutaro ran to confirm that he did see what he was seeing. Ryoma turned and thought that he was invisible but Choutaro was looking straight at him.

"E-echizen-kun?" was all that Choutaro was able to say. Jirou was snoring the whole time Ryoma and Choutaro stared at each other. "You can see me?" the stunned Ryoma asked. Ten-chan came down as well which made Choutaro almost scream of fright. "He must be really special to see dead people and angels." Ten-chan said cheerfully. Ryo and Hiyoshi came to wake Jirou up.

"Oi Choutaro! How long are you going to stare at the tree?" Ryo teased. All three turned and saw that Ryo was standing behind Choutaro while Hiyoshi was trying to wake Jirou up. "Jirou-san… Jirou-san… Jirou-san!" Hiyoshi repeated as he finally poured water on Jirou.

Instantly, the sleeping regular was up and awake. "Eh? Why am I wet?" he was confused. But was came next was something none of them expected. Jirou turned and saw Ryoma and Ten-chan. Choutaro's eyes widen in horror. "Can he see us too?" Ryoma leaned to whisper at Ten-chan. Jirou's eyes shot open and he jumped up.

"T-t-t-t-t-t-t-that…" Jirou was trying to recall how to form words. "Yes, it seems that he can." Ten-chan answered Ryoma. Jirou let out an ear piercing, girl shriek before he turned and ran away with his hand in the air. Ryo and Hiyoshi wondered what made Jirou scream and run but it got everyone attention. "What the hell was Jirou thinking?" Ryo grumbled as he was adjusting his hearing again.

"However, those other two don't see us." Ten-chan pointed out. "I can see that." Ryoma said dryly. Before Choutaro could say anything, Ryo pulled him by the collar and went straight back to the tennis courts. "Time for a little bit of mischief." Ryoma told himself with an evil grin.

~oO0Oo~

The afternoon practice began and Choutaro was worried. He was seeing Ryoma with an angel floating around their courts. Ryoma kept smirking at Choutaro when their eyes met. Ryo suddenly nudged Choutaro. "Oi Choutaro! Where you even listening to what I was saying?" Ryo hissed. "G-gomen Ryo-sempai. It's-" he had to stop himself. If he told Ryo that he could see Ryoma and his angel, his sempai might think he was crazy and laugh at him.

"What? It's what?" Ryo asked. Choutaro looked down and shook his head. "N-nandemonai, Ryo-sempai." Choutaro answered. He knew that he would either be laughed at or called crazy. He didn't want either one so he didn't say anything. Jirou hadn't returned after he ran away screaming. Which still made the rest wonder why.

Mukahi had recovered from Atobe's ball and was standing next to the silent Choutaro. Hiyoshi was about to pick up his racket when it levitated from the bench and flew towards Mukahi's head. "OOWW!" yelled the red head as the racquet fell on the ground. First his forehead, now the back of his head. He turned around with glaring eyes, "Who did it?" he yelled. He was really angry.

Ryoma laughed because Hiyoshi was still frozen in shock. How did his racquet fly and throw itself? Choutaro saw everything but kept quiet. Next, Oshitari took of his glasses to wipe his sweat and placed them on the empty space beside him. Ryoma was holding on to the glasses and moved it on the opposite side as Oshitari was trying to get it. The brains of Hyotei was in between fright and annoyance. Ryoma was laughing and Ten-chan had to laugh as well.

Ten-chan had to make herself and Ryoma disappear when Kabaji came with Jirou who still looked frightened. The horrified sempai looked around and saw that Ryoma and the angel was nowhere. Maybe he was just dreaming that he actually saw the kid. He knew that Ryoma was dead and no amount of wishing was going to bring him back.

However, Choutaro could still see them. They were making their way to where Jirou, Atobe, Oshitari and Kabaji were. "Why did you scream and run away, Jirou?" Atobe was still mad and was now interrogating Jirou. "I-i-i-i-i… Atobe…" Jirou couldn't explain why. He knew that he would be laughed at. He turned to find Choutaro and they stared at each other's eyes from a distance.

"I'm waiting Jirou." Atobe spoke again as he took the glass of juice that Kabaji gave him. Ryoma found the right moment and made a scary face at Jirou just as Atobe was about to take a sip of his juice. "AHHHHHH!" Jirou shrieked again and passed out. Atobe was startled by the scream and accidentally jerked his hand that was holding the glass. He spilled the juice on his head.

"Hahaha... This is just too good…" was all Ryoma could utter in between his laughter. Even Ten-chan was laughing hard. "Enough!" Choutaro screamed. He had enough of the antics. "C-choutaro?" Ryo stuttered. He wondered what made his double's partner scream. "What the hell is wrong with everyone today?" Atobe asked as he stood up. He glared at everyone and they all flinched.

Ryoma straightened himself and floated towards Choutaro. "Fine then… Kill joy." He told Choutaro and disappeared with Ten-chan. Choutaro waited for a few more minutes before relaxing. "He didn't know why Ryoma was torturing them but it was causing everyone problems.

~oO0Oo~

Atobe got cleaned and cut short the practice that day. Everyone just seemed to be at their wit's end. And he was still on the edge himself.

He was on his way home and Ryoma was in his limo as well. "Monkey King seems to be very touchy." Ryoma commented. "And I think you know why he is acting the way he is now. You saw how the others were." She explained. "He should be different… He's Monkey King. His Atobe freakin' Keigo! The captain of Hyotei!" he tried to debate but Ten-chan had disappeared. He's different, he should be.

~oO0Oo~

That night, Atobe was getting ready for his sleep. But before he went to bed, he went out his veranda and looked up at the starry sky. "Are you up there now, brat? Ore-sama is asking you." Atobe asked out loud. To say that Ryoma was surprised was an understatement. "I'm right here, Monkey King." Ryoma answered but knew that he wasn't heard but the man. Atobe sighed and went back to his room to sleep. He deserved to sleep. He had the most tiring day.

(DREAM MODE)

Atobe woke up to the sounds of whispers. He opened his eyes and saw that his whole team was surrounding him. "Your finally awake, baka Monkey King." Ryoma sneered as the rest watched Atobe's reaction. They knew that this was a dream but they didn't know if Atobe knew it. The man's eyes were as wide as tennis balls. It was Echizen Ryoma, Seigaku's brat, standing a few feet away from him.

"I-it can't be…. Y-your…" he stuttered. "Dead? I am. I'm surprised that you haven't realized that this is a dream, Monkey King." Ryoma teased with a confident smirk. Atobe quickly stood up and glared at the green haired boy. "Ore-sama will not stand to be called by such an insulting name." Atobe demanded. Ryoma and the rest sighed. Even in his dreams, he still talked about himself in the third person.

Ryo, Hiyoshi, Oshitari and Mukahi turned to face Choutaro and Jirou. "You two saw him today didn't you?" asked Ryo, looking at Choutaro. "That was why Jirou-sempai shrieked like a girl and ran away." Added Hiyoshi. "And I'm sure that it was the brat who threw the tennis racquet at me, didn't he?" Mukahi asked Choutaro. The simply nodded and turned to face Ryoma who was trying to look innocent.

"Don't give us that face, you… You…" Mukahi was trying to find words to throw back at Ryoma. Atobe sighed, "So it must have been you who scared Jirou as Ore-sama was about to drink the juice earlier too." Atobe said as he twitched. Ryoma simply smirked and nodded once. "Why are you here?" Choutaro asked.

Ryoma sighed and scratched his head. He looked away as if he was looking at something else (Noted: They were up in the clouds so there is nothing much to look at). "Well, you know… Being dead isn't as fun as I thought it would have been…" he began. "But then again, I was given a chance to say my farewell to everyone…" Ryoma thought that being dead means that he couldn't blush anymore. But he did.

"You came to say good bye to us?" Kabaji spoke which made everyone look at him. The rest didn't know that he was capable to knowing other words than "Usu". Ryoma sighed and nodded. "H-hai… I think that I owe Mon-Atobe-san a proper farewell since he had done a lot for me during my funeral." Ryoma said and soften his face. He bowed to Atobe and softly smiled. "Arigato, Atobe-san… For bring everyone that I have met to the funeral… For informing them about what had happen to me… You didn't have to but you did." He added.

Atobe was ow blushing scarlet. It was the first time Ryoma called him by his name instead of the insulting name Ryoma had tend to call him. "Gomen Hiyoshi-sempai, Atobe-san… It seems that I won't be able to keep my promise of having a rematch with you." Ryoma said but was stopped by Atobe. "You think that you won't be able to see us again? We'll see you soon enough, brat." Atobe was back to his old self which made Ryoma and the rest happy.

"It will be quite a while but Ore-sama will claim that rematch that was promised. That you can be sure of, Echizen Ryoma." He told Ryoma. The sun was rising, Ryoma knew his time was up. "I have to go now… Oh, before I forget, thanks your making Seigaku stronger… Keep trying your best Hyotei." He told them then disappeared.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Morning broke through the horizon and Atobe woke up, feeling more calm and less touchy. He got up out of his bed and went out the sunny veranda. He looked up at the sky and smirked, "We shall meet again, Echizen Ryoma of Seigaku. And when that times comes, you shall face a more stronger Atobe Keigo than the one you have fought before." Atobe told the wind. The birds were chirping and he took that as a sign from Ryoma that he had heard what he said and agreed. Besides, being able to have met him before he vanished for the meantime was enough proof that Atobe as going to cross paths with Ryoma somewhere.


	12. You Are My Family

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> PREVIOUSLY:
> 
> Morning broke through the horizon and Atobe woke up, feeling more calm and less touchy. He got up out of his bed and went out the sunny veranda. He looked up at the sky and smirked, "We shall meet again, Echizen Ryoma of Seigaku. And when that times comes, you shall face a more stronger Atobe Keigo than the one you have fought before." Atobe told the wind. The birds were chirping and he took that as a sign from Ryoma that he had heard what he said and agreed. Besides, being able to have met him before he vanished for the meantime was enough proof that Atobe as going to cross paths with Ryoma somewhere.

Ten-chan was a bit excited when Kami-sama told her that she will be bringing Crystal, Tiffanie, Chibi, Haruka, and Rose for the last two days that Ryoma had to say his good byes. "I wonder how Ryoma-kun will manage to bring his family together." Asked Crystal who was floating about. Chibi was also wondering the same thing. None of them spoke for a while. But it was Haruka that noticed that Ryoma, Tiffanie, and Rose where nowhere to be found. Ten-chan knew where they could possibly be.

~oO0Oo~

Ryoma was walking around his house. Nanako had left for her class while his mother and father went to buy groceries. The whole was so quiet that he thought no one else was there. "Ne, Ryoma-san, I think someone else is here aside from us." Tiffanie piped as she peaked into the living room where Ryoma and Rose were in. Rose rolled her eyes as if to indicate 'We heard the sound ourselves, thank you'. The three walked out the room and went upstairs to see who was still there.

The noise was coming from Ryoma's room, which made Ryoma wondered who could be in there. They stuck their heads through the door and saw Ryoga, Ryoma's older brother, lying on Ryoma's bed, clutching a picture frame close to his chest. Ryoma saw his brother crying, truly crying. Ryoga was in deep emotional pain for the loss of his only brother. "Ryoma… Gomen… Gomen… Chibisuke…" he said in between sobs. He truly regretted not having talked to him over the years when he was away from home.

It was heart breaking to watch Ryoga call out his name. Ryoma wanted to tell his brother that it was alright. That he forgave Ryoga for the times they fought and the times that he didn't talk to him. He wanted to hug his brother, and making him stop crying because he himself was in the brink of tears. Rose and Tiffanie were already sobbing silent behind Ryoma.

Haruka, Crystal, Chibi, and Ten-chan came behind them and saw Ryoga crying. "Go ahead, Ryoma-san… Go to him." Crystal said as she wiped a tear away. She felt sorry for Ryoga and Ryoma. Slowly, Ryoma made his way towards he sobbing brother and knelt beside him. He watched slowly as Ryoga fell into the abyss of sleep and Ryoma remain with him. He slowly raised his hand to wipe away the tears that had remained on the edge of Ryoga's eyes. "Ryoma… Gomen, Chibisuke…" he murmured as he shifted a little, holding the frame tighter in his arms.

The angels had left the room to give the brothers privacy. They stayed out in the hallway, wondering what they could do for Ryoma. They left the Echizen household and flew to Seigaku to see if there were people they need to tell Ryoma that was in denial. Haruka, Tiffanie and Chibi went to Ryoma's classroom and were just in time. The bell rang for the lunch break and everyone was busy getting ready to eat. They watched Horio silently stand up from his table with his lunch box and leave the classroom.

"There he goes again…" said one girl. "No one can blame him or the rest of the tennis team." Added another girl. "Yeah, they lost Echizen-kun just after they won the National Championship." Said a boy. "It was surely a tragic and surprising news for them all" said another. Haruka turned to the other two and non-verbally told them that they should follow Horio. They went out and saw him as he was about to go up the stairs.

When they had him, they saw that Kachiro, Katsuo, Sakuno, and Tomoka were waiting for him. Then they went out into the roof top. Crystal, Ten-chan, and Rose were following Sakuno and Tomoka then. "Why are they going out into the roof top?" asked Crystal. No one answered her so they went through the door and saw them laying down a big clothe and sat down. None of them had spoken when they came. "Are they alright?" this time it was Rose who asked. Again, no one answered.

It was Sakuno who tried broke the silence. "This was Ryoma-kun's favorite place." She told them with a small smile on her face, like remembering a happy memory. "He came here to sleep most of the time though." She said and chuckled. Katsuo and Kachiro chuckled with her while Tomoka just smiled and nodded. "These are Ryoma-san's friends aside from the tennis team." Ten-chan told them with a smile. They now know who Ryoma needed to bid good-bye to aside from his family.

But before the angels could leave, Ryoma appeared above them. "So… They're eating hear now too." Ryoma commented with a smirk in his face. Horio snapped his chopsticks in half in the middle of the chuckles. "H-horio-kun…" Sakuno stuttered. "How can you all just laugh about such memories?" he said as he curled his hands into a fist. "Of all the people that had to die, why did it have to be Echizen? Kuso!" Horio cursed. Everyone else looked away. Ryoma didn't know that Horio valued him that way.

Sakuno tried to find the courage within herself to answer him. "B-because… Even if we cry a thousand liters of tears, we won't be able to bring him back, Horio-kun." She told him sternly. This was the first time they saw her hands curl into a small fist. She was restraining herself to either scream or cry. She looked up with tears in her eyes but a smile on her lips. "Memories are what we have left of him, Horio-kun. To be happy, we should remember the fun times we had with him." She added as she looked up.

Ryoma smirked and turned around, "Come on, let's leave them to their lunch. We have a few hours left before the night falls." He said as she floated upwards. Ten-chan, Crystal, and Rose simply nodded with a smile and followed him. Tiffanie, Haruka, and Chibi giggled as they followed behind them. Ryoma was right, they had time before the night fell.

~oO0Oo~

That night, Haruka, Tiffanie, and Rose watched as Ryoga woke up from his sleep, still holding Ryoma's picture frame. Downstairs, Rinko was busy preparing dinner while Nanjiroh went to the temple to ring the bell. Nanako came home just as Ryoga reached the last step of the bottom stairs. She didn't look so good just like him. Her eyes wandered from Ryoga's face to the frame he was holding. She held her bag tighter before running up the stairs without saying anything.

"They all seem to have not moved on, even a little." Haruka commented. "They should have by now, even if it was just a little. It's been more than two weeks now, I think." Rose added. Tiffanie remained silent as they floated into the dining room. Nanjiroh came and sat down without saying any joke like he used to. Ryoga came in with the frame and placed it beside him, smiling at it as if it were really Ryoma. Rinko and Nanjiroh were a bit worried for him. He was in deep denial than the rest of them were.

But they didn't say anything since everything was still fresh and Ryoga had a lot of regrets within himself. "Tonight, mark my words, Ryoga-san will cry a million tears…" Tiffanie spoke before leaving the house and heading back to the clouds. "Very well marked." Said Rose, following Tiffanie out and Haruka bringing up the rear.

(DREAM MODE)

Ryoga woke up when he felt a bit colder than usual. He opened his eyes and saw clouds everywhere. His father and mother were there with Nanako. But what surprised Ryoga the most was that even Ryoma's classmates were there. "Komban wa, Nanjiroh-san, Rinko-san, Nanako-san, Ryoga-san. I'm Ryuzaki Sakuno, a friend of Ryoma-kun. These are Tomoka, Katsuo, Kachiro, and Horio. The boys are members of the tennis team as well." She introduced everyone since they didn't know where they were or what they were doing there.

Ryoma appeared behind Ryoga which made the guy jump away and hide behind his parents. Ryoma pouted and sniffed, "I'm hurt, nii-san… I came all this way to say good bye but you jump and hide." He teased. "T-that wasn't funny, Chibisuke!" Ryoga defended himself and stood straight. Rinko simply smiled and held the outline of Ryoma's face slowly. "I am glad to see you again, Ryoma." She told him with tears on her eyes. Before Ryoma could say anything, Crystal pooped out and told him, "Ryoma-san, Kami-sama says that you can hold them. Hold them as much as you want while you still have time." She smiled and disappeared.

He looked down and he saw his body solidify. He hugged his mother tightly. "O-okaa-san!" he cried in her chest. "Gomen, okaa-san! I didn't mean to cause you pain." He told her. She slowly stroked his hair. "It's not your fault, Ryoma. Don't apologize. You have done nothing wrong." She told him tenderly. This made the boy cry even more. Nanjiroh came closer and ruffled Ryoma's hair.

"We're going to miss you, Ryoma." Was all he said before pulling his youngest son for a hug. He never gave hugs and he regretted it deep in his heart. But holding Ryoma that moment made up for the times that he didn't hug him when Ryoma was still alive. "O-oyaji…" Ryoma stuttered. Nanako ran and cried in Ryoma's shoulder. "Ryoma-san… I promise to take good care of Karupin for you." She told him. Ryoma thought that Karupin should have been there too.

Haruka, Chibi, and Rose came with Karupin. "She wanted to see you too before you leave, Ryoma-san." Rose said as Chibi placed down Karupin who ran into Ryoma's waiting arms. "K-karupin…" Ryoma held Karupin close to his chest. He loved her so much. "Be good for them, Karupin." He told her.

Sakuno slowly made her way and hugged Ryoma the moment Karupin jump down Ryoma's arms. "Ryoma-kun!" she cried as she held him. He was shocked at first then relaxed and hugged her back. "Keep practicing you tennis, Ryuzaki Sakuno." He told her as he pulled away. She had tears in her eyes but had a big smile for Ryoma to see. He chuckled as he wiped away her tears. "Tomoka, take good care of Ryuzaki. She can't walk across a flat stable surface without finding something to trip over." He told her. Tomoka nodded happily while Sakuno blushed.

Ryoma turned to face his teammates. "Horio, instead of two years, do better so that your experience will grow as well." He told Horio who was already crying. "E-echizen…" was all he said and nodded. "Katsuo, Kachiro… I know you both can do better than you show. Don't let Horio out-shine you both." He teased them. "We promise to do our best, Ryoma-kun." Kachiro said while Katsuo nodded with a happy grin in his family. They were happy to have seen him again.

Ryoma turned and they all gave way so that he could approach Ryoga. He held his brother from the back, "Arigato, Ryoga-nii… I'm glad to have a brother like you." Ryoma said as he buried his face behind his brother's back. Ryoga turned around and hugged his little brother properly. "Gomen, Chibisuke! I wasn't a very good brother to you!" he said as his tears came running down his cheek. Ryoma looked up and smiled at him, shaking his head. "Iie, Ryoga-nii. You're the best brother I could have ever wished for… Really. We may have had our setbacks but that's what brothers do, fight and be friends again." He told his crying brother.

Everyone was crying, they could see how Ryoma and Ryoga cared about each other. Rinko and Nanjiroh to have sons like them. Ryoma patted his brother's head gently. "I want you all to move on. I'll always be with you… Watching you from the sky… And I know, someday, I'll see you all again." He told them as he slowly began to vanish.

Ten-chan came with the others, "It's time to say goodbye, Ryoma-san." She said as she smiled at everyone. The rest of the angels nodded and gave them time. "Until we meet again… Sayonara, minna…" Ryoma said and vanished completely.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

When they woke up, they opened there windows and a gently cool morning air blew by. To them it was Ryoma's way of saying 'I'll always be up here… Keep watch…'. They smiled as they began the day with the happy thought that Ryoma had never really left them. He was and will forever be with them, in their hearts and minds.


	13. Hey Sempai-tachi, Missed Me So Soon?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> PREVIOUSLY:
> 
> When they woke up, they opened there windows and a gently cool morning air blew by. To them it was Ryoma's way of saying 'I'll always be up here… Keep watch…'. They smiled as they began the day with the happy thought that Ryoma had never really left them. He was and will forever be with them, in their hearts and minds.

Ryoma recalled the last eleven nights he had spent in the living world, visiting everyone in their dreams in order for him to bid them all goodbye. Ten-chan came with Jaymi and both smiled at each other. Before Ryoma could say anything, the angels had showed him blue shining orbs. "W-hat…" he didn't finish his question. Each orb showed him a memory with a particular person. Every orb had someone else's face in it aside from Ryoma.

Haruka, Rose, Tiffanie, and Chibi popped in from nowhere. "There called memory orbs, Ryoma-san." Chibi spoke, with a smile. "Memory orbs?" he repeated with a confused tone. "Each orb belongs to one particular person…" Tiffanie began. "These orbs in front of you are memories from people who know you." Rose inserted with a smirk. "And as you can see, all the orbs here are from the ones you have visited and are yet to visit…" Haruka added, hinting that Ryoma had yet to visit Seigaku.

"And speaking of visits, you have one night left to stay here. When the sun rises up, we shall take you back to Kami-sama" Jaymi reminded Ryoma. He sighed and knew that it was almost over. He just wondered how he would actually visit the last group in his mind. He didn't know if he could face them without shedding a tear or two himself. They were all silent then, waiting for Ryoma to speak.

"Ryoma-san, would you like us to come with you to visit your team?" Jaymi asked. It was as if Jaymi read Ryoma's thoughts. The boy simply nodded and everyone got ready to leave.

~oO0Oo~

That time, the day was just starting. However, for the members of the Seigaku Tennis Club, it was another one of those days that had been repeating for the last two weeks. Tezuka was more strict, Kaidoh and Momoshiro would usually piss each other off by the smallest things. Oishi was having more trouble keeping everyone calmer since Eiji would cry every time someone would mention Ryoma or a move made by their super rookie. Just the other day, Eiji cried for hours when they saw a freshman by the hallway with a similar cap that Ryoma used to wear.

Inui was more silent than ever, writing everything that happens during practice. Kawamura's burning power had decreased even when he was holding a racquet. But what scared everyone most was Fuji. The mere mention or whisper of Ryoma, they would freeze to death with the cerulean ice glares that the sadistic senior would throw at them. Everyone was still sensitive with the news of Ryoma's death. They couldn't even look at the flag that was hung on the glass case outside the faculty's office. It hurt them too much to look at it and remember that the one who gave them the victory was no longer with them.

Ryoma and the angles arrived just in time. The morning practices were about to begin. Everyone was running laps around the courts. Even with Inui's juice waiting at the end, everyone seemed to run unconsciously. They were like mindless zombies who could run fast. Even Arai and his friends didn't notice that they were running with their seniors still. Coach Ryuuzaki sighed and knew what was making them act the way they are.

The laps ended but no one seemed to be panting. "Wow… none of them are actually out of breath. Usually by this time, it would only be the regulars left, running around the courts with Inui-sempai's scary juice waiting for the last runner to cross the line." Ryoma told his angels. Jaymi, Chibi, Rose, and Crystal laughed. "Oh… I remember that time as well. It was when you were about to face Genka Gakuen, right?" Jaymi recalled and Ryoma was surprised that they knew. "We were watching you then, Ryoma-san. Kami-sama told us to keep a close watch on you." Rose explained so that Ryoma would understand how they knew.

"Eh? Not fair… That was the time where Haruka, Tiffanie, and I were sent to guard someone else by Kami-sama." Ten-chan commented and pouted. Crystal flew next to Ryoma but didn't anticipate that Ryoma would move. "Watch out, Ryoma-san!" she yelled but was too late. Ryoma turned and they both collided. Not only did their bodies slammed on each other, Ryoma's lips were accidentally on Crystals. "Aaahhh!" Chibi, Ten-chan, Rose, and Tiffanie reacted. Haruka and Jaymi were speechless.

Without another second to waste, Crystal floated away with a bright scarlet blush on her face. "G-gomen! Ryoma-san!" she said bowing her head low. "She was just clumsy as Ten-chan," Ryoma thought to himself. He simply nodded once and went back to looking down at the courts.

Momo accidentally bumped into Kaidoh as they were changing courts. "Watch where you're going, baka Momoshiri!" Kaidoh instantly yelled. Momo's face hardened with anger, "What did you just call me, you stupid Mamushi?" he retaliated back. Both were inches away from each other when Oishi can and separated them. "Enough! You two have been in each other's throat for the last two weeks!" Oishi reprimanded them sternly. Momo and Kaidoh turned away from each other and moved as far as they could. Oishi sighed in frustration; things had been getting way out of hand since Ryoma's funeral.

Taka, Eiji, and Inui approached Oishi. "Those two are inches away from biting each other's head off." Eiji commented with a sad tone. Inui was silent but wrote something down on his notebook. Ryoma floated closer and was about to peak into the notebook when Inui snapped it close. Fuji and Tezuka had entered the courts and everyone greeted the stoic bucho. Fuji had his eyes close which made everyone breathe a little better. They all had to be extra careful when Fuji was around.

Momo had gone to the locker room to take a shower. Ryoma decided to follow him and the angels went with him. But before they could even enter the locker room, they could hear Momo's screams from the outside. Ryoma went through the wall and saw that his sempai was in the showers still with his clothes on, screaming at the top of his lungs. "Echizen!" he yelled and punched the wall. "ARGH! Why did you-" he stopped himself and punched the wall again. As if by queue, Fuji came with an angry look on his face.

"Momo!" Fuji had yelled. This shocked Ryoma. Fuji had never yelled before. Mom didn't even turn around but he punched the wall again. This time, his fist left blood stains. Momo didn't seem to feel pain as of the moment. "Echzien, Ryoma! Baka!" Momo yelled again. This time, Fuji ran and punched him on the face. Momo fell on the wet floor and Fuji was on top of him, holding his collar. "Didn't I warn you before not to mention his name when I'm around?" Fuji yelled at him. "Echizen!" Momo yelled again. Fuji was really losing his patience. "Shut up! Shut up! Shut up!" Fuji screamed again and again. he was about to punch Momo but Tezuka caught his hand. Ryoma didn't even notice that the whole team was inside the locker room already. "Enough, Fuji." Tezuka sounded angry.

"Tell Momo to shut up then!" Fuji pulled back his hand and stood up, walking to his locker to grab a towel. Taka and Oishi helped Momo stand back up. Ryoma entered the steamy shower, hoping that at least one of them could see him. It was Kawamura who saw Ryoma's steamy image. His eyes got wide open and he took a step back. "I-i-i-it can't be… Y-y-you're…" he stuttered. Inui and the rest turned to Kawamura. "Taka-san? What's wrong?" asked Eiji with concern. "E-echizen was… H-he was…" he tried to explained but couldn't find the words to tell the rest.

Fuji glared at Kawamura as he heard Ryoma's name being mention once again. "Can you all just not mention his name! Is that so much to ask?" Fuji yelled at everyone in the locker room. Eiji's hands were curled into fists, he was on his last thread. "Why don't you want to talk about O-chibi, Fuji? Don't tell me your trying to forget him now because his gone!" Eiji sneered angrily. Fuji and everyone, including Ryoma and the angels turned to look at the angry red head. "Why is it that everyone avoids talking about O-chibi huh?" he asked.

"Eiji, you better stop now before—" Fuji began to warn but Momo stopped him. "Before what, Fuji-sempai? You'd hit Eiji-sempai like you did to because I kept yelling Echizen's name?" Momo sided with Eiji. "Do you have any idea how hard it was for me to have heard the news about his death straight from his dad? You all have no clue how freakin' painful the thought that I would never get to pick him up and go to school with him or go to the fast-food stand we hang out to after school! You have no idea, Fuji-sempai!" Momo yelled with tears streaming down his eyes.

Tezuka was about to speak but Fuji raised his hand, "Yeah, I have no idea what you feel Momoshiro. But you have no idea how I feel when the mere mention of Echizen's name crosses my ears…" he said with his head down. "Did you have any idea that I sort of fell in love with Echizen?" Fuji asked him. Ryoma was stunned. Fuji was in love with him? Fuji raised his head and his blue eyes were filled with tears. "I had fallen for him the day that we dueled in the rain… The fire in his eyes… The determination to not lose to me… You have no idea how I felt when you texted me that he was gone… That I was never going to see him or have a match with him again…" Fuji said as he punched the door of his locker.

Rose, Tiffanie, Crystal, and Chibi were crying. They felt Fuji's broken heart. Haruka, Jaymi, Ten-chan were trying their best to calm the whole area. Ryoma didn't notice that he was already crying. Haruka turned and saw it first. "R-ryoma-san…" Haruka called out and Ryoma slowly turned to them. He felt that his head had gotten too heavy for him to move.

Tezuka didn't know what to say. This has never happened to them before. Inui stopped writing and faced everyone. "We all have suffered in different ways. We all lost someone were truly cared for." He told them. No one could look at anyone in the eyes. "Ryoma's never going to come back, is he?" Momo looked like he wanted to kill himself right then and there. "No, Momoshiro. Echizen will never come back." Tezuka answered and turned around. He was about to leave the locker room. "This concludes today's practice. We all can't seem to focus with heavy hearts and minds." He said and grabbed his tennis bag.

Slowly, everyone began to leave. Inui and Kawamura left just after Tezuka had gone. Oishi grabbed his and Eiji's bag and pulled the now crying red head with him. Kaidoh grabbed Momo and bandaged his bleeding wrist in silence. Momo didn't even react that it was Kaidoh who was cleaning his hand. Fuji had left when the two juniors were busy. He had cried too much already. "Ne, Kaidoh…" Momo called softly. Kaidoh didn't answer. "In some ways, we all had fallen for Echizen." He said and Kaidoh froze. Momo was right about that. In some way, Kaidoh had admired Ryoma for beating him and making him realize that he had more to do before he could become really strong.

The angels had taken Ryoma back with them. He was crying the whole time they were waiting for night to come. It was just devastating to see their Ryoma-san to be in pieces. He missed his teammates. He missed his sempai's. He missed everyone.

(DREAM MODE)

Night had finally come and everyone woke up to see Ryoma sitting across them with tears in his eyes. "E-echizen…" Tezuka spoke shakily. "G-gomen, sempa-tachi… Gomen…" he said. He was crying in front of them. Fuji reached out and held him. He was surprised that he was able to hold Ryoma. The kid didn't care but he was glad that he was being held by his sempai. "Gomen, Fuji-sempai… I.." he was sobbing so hard that he couldn't even say anything. But Fuji didn't care. He was just glad that he had held Ryoma again.

Eiji quickly jumped and hugged Ryoma too. "O-chibi… O-chibi…" Eiji kept calling Ryoma's nickname. Jaymi and the rest didn't want to interrupt but they knew that had to remind Ryoma that his time was short. "Gomenasai, Ryoma-san..." Jaymi apologized. "You're time is running…" Tiffanie reminded him. "You better say what you have to while you still can…" added Chibi and Rose. Ryoma turned to them and nodded.

Ryoma pulled away and faced everyone, tears were still running down his face. "I came here tonight, in your dreams… To bid you all good bye…" he began. "My time was just extended so that I can tell you all how wonderful my life had become after meeting everyone…" he told them and smiled. "Kaidoh-sempai, thank you for making me strong… You thought me that being strong in my own way is something I can be proud of…" Kaidoh's tears fell from his eyes and Ryoma stood up to give him a hug. "Visit Karupin everyday and play with her for me, ne Kaidoh-sempai." Ryoma added. Kaidoh merely nodded and pulled away from the hug.

"Kawamura-sempai, thanks for all the sushi you have given me and the burning energy that you shared when you showed me that true power is when you never give up without a fight." Ryoma hugged him as well. "Thanks, Echizen. Because of you, I managed to keep fighting on." Kawamura told him. Next, Ryoma turned to Inui, "Though I hated your weird juices, thanks for making them , Inui-sempai. They were a great motivator to all of us." Ryoma joked. Inui merely smiled and pulled Ryom into a hug. "Wherever your going, keep safe, Echizen." Inui told him and passed him to Oishi and Eiji who hugged him at the same time.

"Oishi-sempai, Kikumaru-sempai, arigato ne. I was glad to have fun sempai's like you two. You showed me and the rest of the tennis world the power of your infinite doubles." He told them. Eiji cried while hugging Ryoma. "We're going to miss you, O-chibi." Eiji told him and Oishi nodded in agreement. "Strange as it may sound, I will miss you glomping me too, Kikumaru-sempai." Ryoma smiled at them. He stood in front of Tezuka and bowed. "Tezuka-bucho, arigato. For all the time that I have made mistakes and became stubborn, thank you for putting up with me and believing in me that I can achieve anything I put my best into." He said with tears and a smile. Tezuka smiled back which surprised everyone but didn't dwell on it.

"No need for that, Echizen. You have showed us that with hard work and determination, we can achieve anything and everything we can dream off when we work together. And for that, I thank you." Tezuka said and bowed at him before he hugged the boy for a short while. "Fuji-sempai… In some ways, I have loved you as well… Thank you for caring and worrying about me bad things happen to me." He said and hugged the blond sempai. Fuji refused to say anything and just hold him. "I shall truly miss you, Echizen." He finally said and kissed Ryoma's forehead.

Ryoma nodded and finally faced Momo. "Momo-sempai, I owe you a lot… I'm sorry for causing you grief and sorrow... I'm sorry for hurting you when I died... I'm sorry that I had to die without even warning you… I'm truly sorry…" Ryoma said and hugged his best friend. "You were the greatest friend I could have wished for. And for that, I will truly miss you, Momo-sempai." He added. Momo stood there, holding on to Ryoma. He was glad that Ryoma cared for him as well. "I'll miss picking you up every day, Echizen… But I know, some day, we'll meet again somewhere." Momo told him as he pulled away.

"So, until that time comes, I'll always remember you." He added as he smiled at his best friend. Ryoma slowly started to vanish. "My time is up, minna…" he said as he looked at them. "Keep fighting and never give up… I'll always be with you all. I'll be watching you from the sky…" he told them as he backed away. The angels came and bowed. "It's time now, Ryoma Echizen." The angels chorused.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Morning broke and everyone woke up in their beds. They quickly opened their windows and looked up at the bright blue sky. A cool morning breeze passed them by and the birds were singing. The wind seemed to whisper to them, saying "I'll be here with you all… Watching… Waiting… for the time that I'll see everyone again." They say the clouds turn to what seemed like a smile. Ryoma was smiling down at them. And they knew that Ryoma was in their hearts and minds forever and ever.


End file.
